My coworker, Terry Jordan, and I went out to do some atlas work at 11:00 am. We were heading out the exit road of Jefferson Patterson Park when I spied a smallish raptor flying just to the northeast of us. I stopped the car and watched it spiralling closer. I told her that she needed to get a good look at it. I parked the car and we jumped out in time to see a sub-adult MISSISSIPPI KITE fly almost directly overhead. It continued to spiral overhead and moved off further into the park. We turned around and watched it fly over the treeline but by the time we got on the other side of the trees, it was gone. I'm not sure if it perched somewhere just out of our sight but it had vanished.

The bird had the distinct two-toned underwing and streaky chest and the long, squared, barred tail of a sub-adult MIKI. The wing of a kite, to me, has a more rounded look at the tip. I guess that's due to the shortened P9 & 10. Certainly not the pointy look of a falcon.

Anyway, I'll be keeping an eye out for this critter! Thankfully, Jane and I just returned from Texas where we had a chance to study numerous adult and sub-adult MIKIs kettling over Santa Ana NWR. I'd much rather see one in MD than TX!

Tyler Bell

California, Maryland

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