By Sally Siko

So there are a few birds out there which are frustrating for me to photograph, this Mississippi Kite is one of them lol!
It’s not that they are rare, rather it’s the fact that every single time I’ve ever spotted one it’s always soaring about a hundred feet in the air.
I swear to ya, these guys never land haha!
I’ve been told that they do perch in trees lol, but I won’t believe it until I see it for myself 🤣
Poor quality photos aside, Mississippi Kites are beautiful raptors. They are a pale gray bird with red eyes which look amazing when viewing through binoculars or a scope.

Mississippi Kites have become a major success story in North Carolina and elsewhere throughout their breeding range. Nesting populations have been expanding steadily not only along the East Coast but also into the Great Plains and even into the Southwest! United States.
Often spotted feeding on large insects such as cicadas and dragonflies while in flight gliding high over wetland forests, they need only a few tall trees, even in town parks, for a nesting site.
In fact, pairs of Mississippi Kites now nest in areas such as Roanoke Rapids, Goldsboro, Rocky Mount, and Laurinburg which is simply awesome!

A spring and summertime resident of North Carolina, Mississippi Kites may be found throughout the state from April through October. That being said, they occur more numerously in our central & eastern counties from May though June.
Aren’t they lovely?

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my beloved full frame 50MP beast, the mighty @canonusa #5Ds