Hello Friends!

Nesting season continues! And, as we discussed in the last newsletter, it is important to continue to offer important resources to nesting adults and new fledglings. There is still time to put up a new birdhouse and certainly adding a bird bath to your yard can increase birds' time in your yard. Likewise, this time of year is great for adding some wind chimes to your porch! Summer heat is often accompanied by summer thunderstorms and the breeze from a quick storm can really make some nice wind chimes sing.

We have a store full of these great items! Bird baths, bird houses, wind chimes, Peace poles, and more!

Please keep in mind that we offer curbside pickup. If you prefer not to go into the store in person, just give us a call and order on the phone. We will bring it out to your car for you! No contact, safe, and helpful! We also offer some items for sale online for in-store pickup!

Hours 

910-343-6001

Monday-Saturday 10-430

and Sunday 12-4

Thank you for joining us in this space!

Happy birding!

Summer Must Haves

Nesting is still underway and with the heat we have been experiencing lately it is a great idea to offer a bird bath. Recently we got in a shipment of many new bird baths in lots of styles. We also have bird bath accessories like a special cleaning solution and water wigglers.

Look at these gorgeous bird baths and bird houses! 

We have everything you need to make your yard a bird paradise!

Winnabow Kite Extravaganza

 By Wayne Hoffman



Winnabow is a small community along Highway 17 southwest of Leland, in Brunswick Co. It is fairly rural, with a mix of farm fields, woodland, and residential development. For at least a few years now, in mid-late May it has hosted a spectacular gathering of Mississippi Kites and Swallow-tailed Kites, feeding on flying insects above an area of cultivated fields. The location is along Governors Road, in the first mile east of Hwy 17. The kites, along with large numbers of Laughing Gulls swoop and circle over the fields and adjacent woodlots. The gulls catch the prey with their bills – they accelerate and stretch their necks out, often after a quick elevation change. The kites catch the prey with their feet, and quickly transfer them to their beaks. Both seem to swallow the prey very quickly.

The Mississippi Kites are a mixture of adults and immatures (last summer’s offspring). The immatures are easily distinguished by plumage, and many are molting. The adults do not molt during the nesting season, as growing new feathers is energy-intensive and they need to devote all excess energy to feeding their young. Molting has additional energy costs by affecting aerodynamic performance. In 2021 a higher percentage of these kites were adults. Possibly the lower number of adults in 2022 is because of the later dates, as more of the adults may have dispersed out of the area to begin nesting. Alternatively 2021 may just have been a very successful nesting season!

Figure 1. Adult Mississippi Kite.

Figure 2. Yearling Mississippi Kite. Note the gaps in the wings where molted feathers are missing.

Figure 3. Laughing Gulls coursing over crop field.

On May 23 this year I counted 200+ Laughing Gulls, 40+ Mississippi Kites, and 20+ Swallow-tailed Kites. In 2021, the activity peaked a week or so earlier with higher numbers – over 120 Mississippi Kites and 25-30 Swallow-tailed Kites. This is all private property, so I stayed on the road right-of-way. Several local residents stopped to chat, and seemed to really enjoy the birds, particularly the Swallow-tailed Kites. 

On May 23, a lot of the kite activity was northeast of Governors Road, over the yards and patches of trees. The birds would move out (across the road) over the farm fields for a few minutes, then drift back northeast for a little while. The breeze was from the southwest, so I assume the prey were drifting out that direction, and the kites would follow them, then come back upwind to meet the next bunch. The gulls were feeding a lot near the ground, up to about tree-top level. The Swallow-tailed Kites spent most of their time near treetop level, and a lot of the Mississippi Kite action was above treetop level, up to 150' or so above the ground.

Adult and yearling Swallow-tailed Kites are not readily distinguishable, so it is not clear how many of the 20 were adults. We mostly see Swallow-tailed Kites from below, but when they turn they sometimes tip far enough to show their exquisite blue and black upperparts.

Figure 4. Swallow-tailed Kite from below.

Figure 5. Swallow-tailed Kite top side.

So what were all these kites eating? There are well-known gathering sites in South Carolina and Florida in late summer, where the kites feed on swarming dragonflies, but it was clear that dragonflies were not the target at Winnabow. When kites catch dragonflies, wings and abdomens are easy to see protruding from their clenched talons, and in the many captures I observed, the prey were completely enclosed within the birds’ ”fists.” So, I searched the sky, and my surroundings, for flying insects, and quickly started seeing flying Japanese Beetles. Here is a Japanese Beetle on roadside vegetation along Governors Road.

Figure 6. Japanese Beetle.

The following sequence shows a Swallow-tailed Kite reaching for a prey item flying just in front of it, then the kite with closed fist, then the kite reaching up to its bill to transfer the prey. These photos were taken with the camera’s motor drive set to 5 frames per second, so they were spaced 0.2 seconds apart. In other words, in less than half a second, the kite caught its prey with its foot, and transferred it to its bill for quick swallowing.  Pretty impressive!

Figure 7. Swallow-tailed Kite approaching flying prey

Figure 8. Kite with clenched fist containing prey

Figure 9. Kite transferring prey to bill.

Our staff are awesome and they are happy to help you with anything you see in the store. Come see us and say hi this week! 

[ORGANIZATION NAME]

[ADDRESS] - [PHONE NUMBER] [WEBSITE]