ML128339281

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

The first I've seen in Clarke County. Flying east to west past the Quarters building a little after 12 noon. Seen for about 30-45 seconds. It was being chased by a couple of Fish Crows (longer-winged than the crows). A very light colored raptor, with long, narrow, pointed wings and a long tail. Back and upper surface of the wings mostly gray. The breast and belly were a uniform light gray. The tail was banded with narrow black and white, suggesting a bird entering its first full summer (a "first summer" bird as depicted in the National Geographic Guide). The long pointed wings eliminated an Accipiter, and the bird was much too large for an American Kestrel and lacked the facial pattern of a Peregrine Falcon. Male Northern Harriers are also gray, but this bird lacked the conspicuous white rump and had much more pointed wings than a harrier would ever show. I did not have my cameras with me, but one of my students (Coral Bielecki) had an SLR but no zoom or telephoto lens. She got a couple of shots which do a good job of showing the birds general form, if not specific field marks. I have seen a fair number of Mississippi Kites in my life, but none in the past 6-7 years. I have not seen them in Virginia since the 1980s when they were often seen at Huntley Meadows.

Technical information

Model

NIKON D3200

Lens

18.0-55.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

ISO

100

Focal length

52 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/10.0

Shutter speed

1/400 sec

Dimensions

412 pixels x 289 pixels

Original file size

43.38 KB