Mississippi Kite Nesting Summary for NH - 2021

[Stephen Mirick]

2021 was a difficult year for the kites in NH.  On the plus side, all 4
pairs that attempted to nest last year returned to the same territories,
but unfortunately we were only able to confirm success in one of the
four territories.  The Kites were first made famous in 2008 and this is
(at least) the 13th consecutive year that kites (between 1 and 4 pairs)
have nested in New Hampshire in this isolated, rare, nesting colony.

DURHAM - The"Madbury Road" territory was first noted in 2017 and last
year's nest successfully fledged one chick as is the norm.  At no time
has there ever been more than a single chick in a nest in NH.  This
year, the pair moved the nest back down the street to the same location
as 3 years ago!!  They nested in the same white pine tree in the same
back yard as in 2018!!  Deb Powers found the nest this year.  The home
owners were (as they were in 2018) gracious and welcoming of the birds
(and birders) to visit.  But sadly, the nest didn't succeed.  Incubation
start date was not documented, but hatching occurred roughly on June
30.  July started with very cold wet weather and this combination likely
led to the death of the recently hatched chick.  Sadly, the horrific end
of this nest was captured on July 6 when Deb Powers captured a photo of
what appears to be an adult trying to remove the dead baby from the
nest: https://www.flickr.com/photos/143862779@N08/51295275588

NEWMARKET - This specific Newmarket territory was first noted in 2018. 
Last year, they nested high up in an oak tree and the nest failed for
unknown reasons.  This year, the pair returned and quickly got to work. 
Dan McCoy captured them copulating on May 21st: 
https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/341082111
But after that, sightings became intermittent and a specific
territory/nest could not be located.  Despite a few birders searching
all summer, no nest and/or fledged young were ever found. It's not known
whether they built an undiscovered nest.  I believed they were not
successful if they did.  But ???

STRATHAM - This territory was first noted in 2017 and last year's nest
successfully fledged one chick.  This year, they moved the nest again
into a new location into the side yard of a different home in the
neighborhood.  The nest was placed in a black cherry tree this year and
was discovered by Chris Duffy.  The black cherry was a new species of
nest tree for the kites in NH which have now used, maple, hickory, oak,
pine, and cherry trees for their nests!
https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/350022551  The nest was not easily
seen and the neighbors weren't happy about birders so the nest was not
well documented.  Incubation started somewhere during the first week of
June and hatch date was somewhere on or before July 15.  The chick was
doing very well in the nest and was last reported on August 26 when it
was roughly 42+ days old.  It was not seen flying, but is presumed to
have fledged due to its age.  THIS IS THE ONLY FLEDGED KITE THIS SUMMER.

GREENLAND - This territory was first noted in 2020.  Last year, they
nested successfully in a hickory tree, raising a single chick.  The nest
fell down over the winter; however, the pair returned and rebuilt the
nest in the same crotch of the tree.  Sightings, however, were few after
the nest was built, and despite the nest, incubation was never
observed.  It's not known what happened here. Sightings of one (or two?)
birds were reported from time to time, but no evidence of a re-nesting
attempt was found.  It is purely speculative as to what happened;
however, it is noted that a pair of Cooper's Hawks successfully raised a
family in the same immediate area, and I wonder if there could have been
conflict.  Regardless, it is not known if they built another,
undiscovered nest.  I believe they were not successful if they did.  But
????

No other hints of new territories were uncovered; however, there may
have been 3 birds at the Stratham nest site on a couple of occasions. 
This was not conclusive, and it also may reflect one of the adults from
the Greenland territory.

Thanks to Deb Powers, Chris Duffy, Dan McCoy, Ed Norton, Sheila Graydon,
and the home owners for their help and cooperation in following these birds.

Steve Mirick
Bradford, MA

[Steve Mirick]

Once again, Mississippi Kites seem to have had a difficult year nesting
in New Hampshire in 2022.  Like last year, only a single nest was found
and only a single chick was confirmed to fledge. This despite the fact
that at least 4 pairs of kites were confirmed on territory with possibly
5 pairs.  The Kites were first made famous by nesting in 2008 and this
is (at least) the 15th consecutive year that kites (between 1 and 4

pairs) have nested in New Hampshire in this isolated, rare, nesting colony.

A summary of the 5 Kite territories was as follows:

DURHAM - Kites in Durham have been somewhat regular in recent years, but
last year the nest failed, and it appears that this year's nest may have
failed also.  Two Kites were observed soaring together over the UNH
campus on June 6, but subsequent reports were lacking. Finally, a pair
was reported roosting several nights in a row from a back yard not far
from recent nest sites in early July.  This culminated in COPULATION on
the late date of July 6.  This (to me) suggests a nest failure.  By
early July, Kites are typically nearing hatch date, and shouldn't be
copulating and roosting like this without a nest.   And the date is too
late for a new nesting attempt to be successful.  Scattered reports of
single birds were widespread in Durham later in summer, but nothing to
suggest a new nest site.

NEWMARKET - Once again, the Kites of Newmarket have been a big mystery. 
Who the heck knows what's going on?  Up to two birds were seen in mid to
late May, but there were ZERO reports from June through July despite a
fair amount of searching.   The next report from Newmarket was two birds
circling on August 5 and two birds perched on August 14.  Two birds
perched together for "several hours" on August 16 suggests that they did
not raise any young since they should be feeding young at this date. 
Last report of year of single bird on August 15.

STRATHAM #1 - This territory was first noted in 2017 and last year's
nest successfully fledged the only chick for the year.  The pair
returned, but the nest tree (a black cherry) had been cut down!!!! There
were numerous sightings of birds at or near this territory (two together
on June 6 and June 8 and three together on June 23) but no regular
sightings in any given area.  Sightings continued from nearby locations,
but it became unclear if these were from the Stratham #1 birds or the
Greenland birds or both.  No nest found and I'm not optimistic.

STRATHAM #2 - This is a brand new territory and is the bright star for
New Hampshire's Kites during 2022.  On June 4, a Kite was seen at a new
territory (far from the other territory in Stratham).  This resulted in
a few additional sightings including a pair, but then nothing for over a
month.  I was extremely happy to find the new nest on July 29 high up in
a white pine tree.  This nest got a very late start and the chick was
probably only a week old or less at this time.  In addition to the two
adults, a 3rd adult was seen on several occasions; however, it is not
clear that it helped feed the young bird or not.  The chick did very
well and was fed cicadas, dragonflies, and even a monarch!  It fledged
on August 29 or August 30, which is very late.  But it continued to be
fed and was seen flying and attempting to catch food on September 10. 
The young bird was last seen flying nearby on September 11 and hopefully
has a successful migration south.

GREENLAND - This territory was first noted in 2020 when they raised a
young.   Last year's nest was apparently abandoned.  This year, kites
returned again to the same area and rebuilt the nest and were seen
copulating on June 6!!  But then everything fell apart.  One was seen on
June 10, but NO OTHER SIGHTINGS from the immediate area of the nest were
reported for the rest of the summer.  This is the same as last
year....rebuild nest, copulate, and then nothing! Frustrating. 
Sightings from nearby may be overlap with Stratham #1 territory and it
isn't clear whether any nest was ever built elsewhere.

A summary of confirmed fledged Kites (and pairs of kites present) from
recent years in NH:

2017 - 0 (3 pairs)
2018 - 3 (3 pairs)
2019 - 2 (3 pairs)
2020 - 3 (3 pairs)
2021 - 1 (4 pairs)
2022 - 1 (4 or 5 pairs)

Thanks to all who helped out this year and contributed to this information.

PLEASE NOTE - IN THE FUTURE, I WILL BE DOING MY BEST TO KEEP THE
LOCATIONS OF THESE NESTS QUIET AND KEEP THE LOCATION SECRET IN EBIRD
POSTS, ETC.   THE POPULARITY OF THESE BIRDS FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS IS A MESSY
SITUATION WITH HOME OWNERS AND NEIGHBORS.   The kites don't seem to care
much, but the people do.

Steve Mirick
Bradford, MA

[Steve Mirick]

Once again, Mississippi Kites seem to have had a difficult year nesting

in New Hampshire in 2023.  I'm guessing the weather in June may have
been a big factor.  Like the past two years, only a single nest was

found and only a single chick was confirmed to fledge. This despite the

fact that at least 4 pairs of kites were confirmed on territory.  The

Kites were first made famous by nesting in 2008 and this is (at least)

the 16th consecutive year that kites (between 1 and 4 pairs) have nested

in New Hampshire in this isolated, rare, nesting colony.

A summary of the 4 Kite territories was as follows:

DURHAM - Kites in Durham had been somewhat regular in recent years, but
they haven't produced any young in the last 3 years. This year, a pair
was observed on May 23rd and they were seen carrying sticks into a
potential nest site!  Another visit on May 28th found the pair
copulating and bringing in more nesting material.  But sadly, they
appear to have abandoned at some point after this.  I don't know of any
sightings after July 2nd.

NEWMARKET - The Kites of Newmarket continue to be a big mystery. Who the
heck knows what's going on?  Two birds showed up at a traditional spot
on May 16th.  Then again, two birds were seen on May 27th flying above
this same location.  Then a single bird at same spot on July 28th. 
Another bird was reported from a different historic location in
Newmarket on June 19th.  I spent a lot of time searching, but came up
empty.  An intriguing report of a possible juvenile (or 1st summer?)
bird was reported on August 27th.  Bottom line, no firm territory was
found, but there appears to still be some activity in the town.  It's
possible they nested in town somewhere, but hard to say.

STRATHAM #1 - This was a new territory last year and the site where the
only chick from 2022 fledged.  At least one bird was reported back in
the area on May 11th and two birds were first reported on May 26th. 
Birds were observed carrying sticks and working on a nest on May 30th.  
And then over 2 weeks later on June 16, they were observed carrying
sticks again!  Then on June 25th, the pair was seen COPULATING?!?!  I
can only guess that they failed at their first attempt and the
copulation was just a veiled attempt to renest which apparently never
happened.

STRATHAM #2 - Last year I found a new nest with a chick in it in
Stratham on July 29th and it was the only chick that fledged for 2022. 
This year, I found a different nest in a new location in Stratham on
August 24th!  What a relief!  I had thought the season was over and we
werent going to have any baby Kites!  It's easiest to find these nests
when they're bringing in food and this is how I found this nest.  The
nest was high up in a maple tree crotch in the front yard of a single
family home in an established residential neighborhood.  I never got a
chance to talk to the home owners.
The baby fledged on August 30th or September 1st and was still seen in
the area flying and being fed by the female on September 7th.  This was
my last sighting, but a neighbor claims that they were there on the
10th.  This is pushing the envelope as to the late fledge date. 
Hopefully the chick had learned to feed on its own and hopefully it is
now passing through the southeastern US on its way to Paraguay!  Here's
a photo of the fledged chick a day after leaving its nest:

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/608584890

A summary of confirmed fledged Kites (and pairs of kites present) from
recent years in NH:

2017 - 0 (3 pairs)
2018 - 3 (3 pairs)
2019 - 2 (3 pairs)
2020 - 3 (3 pairs)
2021 - 1 (4 pairs)
2022 - 1 (4 or 5 pairs)

2023 - 1 (4 pairs)

Thanks to all who helped out this year and contributed to this information.

PLEASE NOTE - I WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP THE LOCATIONS OF MOST OR ALL OF
THESE NESTS QUIET UNLESS THE CIRCUMSTANCES PERMIT.  THE POPULARITY OF
THESE BIRDS FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS (AND BIRDERS WITH CAMERAS) IS A MESSY