The Yellow-throated Warbler was in sycamores along the closed bike
rail/road just north of Birdland Marina and the 2nd St. bridge in Des Moines.
The other bird was along the same trail as above but just north of North
High School and was briefly seen over a large lagoon there. At first I thought
the bird in the distance was a tern or perhaps a Bonaparte’s Gull because of
its buoyant flight. With binoculars it was obviously a raptor; it was long
tailed, fairly long-winged, soared and flapped alternately, maintained its
buoyant flight style, and was roughly brown in color. Evidently, a sub-adult
(second summer) Mississippi Kite would have this plumage although at the
distance, although I could not absolutely rule out Sharp-shinned Hawk
(definitely not a Coopers) or even Northern Harrier although at least for
Harrier, the habitat was all wrong.
Bob Cecil
Des Moines, IA
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Birding channel recommendation for FRS/GMRS radio use:
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