I admire this male white-tailed kite for his sense of responsibility in raising the family. He goes hunt a few times in the afternoon and brings back the pray close to the nest where the female comes close to him and they did some kind of mid-air food transfer then. He rests for 10-15 minutes or so and he goes hunt again.
But at the end of the day though, he doesn’t bring the prey to the nest area. Instead, he makes a detour and lands somewhere else to enjoy his well-deserved meal of the day. I noticed that the female approached him even then but he simply buffed her off that time or ignores her as if he is saying “Leave me alone, I am eating!”
BTW, I was at this site quite often and I noticed this behavior a few times. But this is the most completed sequence up to this point. I left out a few similar images.
Thank you very much for stopping by and please feel free to leave any feedback,
Joshua
Great stuff Joshua, I love your behavioral observations. My favorite is #2, love the profile and beautiful eyes. I can hear my mother in the background saying chew your food, don’t wolf it down.
gregfountain wrote:
Great set of images Joshua! I love that you caught the nictitating membrane in the last!
Greg
Thank you very much, Greg! Good eye there, buddy!
dallvr wrote:
Yikes, #s 6-8 are amazing (actually they all are, but these show the kite gulping down its prey whole)!
I know but at least white-tailed kites can swallow the prey whole and as such, the images are less gory. Last week I photographed a kestrel, kestrels are about half the size of the WTKs and they have a smaller beak. So, it had to "take apart" the prey in order to eat it...
I appreciate your kind words, Shirley!
juankgigo wrote:
It's very hard to pick a favorite so I will say all are wonderful pictures!
Thank you very much for your kind words, Juan!
torobouk wrote:
Terrific Joshua YGMV
I really appreciate your kind compliment and thank you for your vote!
Awesome images, Joshua!!