Friends...do note the word probable in the heading, but all indications point towards a "tentative" ID of adult male MIKI.
Yesterday early evening (6:30 ish), while working in the flower bed, I heard the martins making their alarm call. I looked up expecting to see the coopers hawk that harasses and dines on "my" martins, but all I saw was a nighthawk..."wait, that's not a nighthawk." Mind goes into fast forward mode and I'm trying to make this bird "fit" a normal ID, but I can't. The bird was fairly dark (I'm looking almost right up at it so it would have been casting a shadow on its underside). The wings were angled very much like a falcon, but it wasn't a falcon. It had a completely black, unbanded tail that was quite squared off. Underside of wings were dark but not black, like tail. Underside (belly) was a darker shade of uniform color- no barring or banding. I did not get a look at the head or top of wings. I ONLY SAW THE BIRD BRIEFLY- about 4 seconds. The whole time looking at parts of the bird, trying to make sense of it. As it disappeared over the trees (it was gliding NE, about 90 degrees off a stiff NW wind over the edge of the lake), I exclaimed...ok I loudly exclaimed to my wife, "that's a kite." I ran down to the dock (other side of trees) to try and see it again. But as luck, or lack thereof, would have it, the bird had turned and was working its way back over the yard. I saw it a second time, for about 2 seconds, before it flew west along the lake, just over the treetops. My wife, who was still in the yard, had a much better look at it the second time. She said, "that wasn't a coopers hawk." Of course I immediately asked her about a bazillion questions (maybe 2 bazillion, I can't keep track after I run out of fingers). The main thing she saw that I didn't was that as the bird headed NW (more towards the sun), it looked much lighter, almost white, on the underside. I called my friend Ron Erpelding, told him what I had seen and asked a question. If kites are insect eaters, why would the martins be alarmed by it? One of his books indicated MIKI will eat swifts and smaller swallows. There was also a major dragonfly hatch yesterday and those buggers were everywhere at the time of the sighting. Every indication to me suggests kite, unless someone can suggest another plausible ID. I worked this morning from about 6-10:00 but hung around the yard the rest of the day...hoping. At one time I heard the blue jays "we don't like you here" chatter about half a block away. When I investigated, I found a male coopers hawk (waiting for tasty martins, no doubt) perched high in a cottonwood. I should also note Ron and I searched for the probable kite for about 45 minutes after the sighting, along the lake and down into the nearby cemetery, about half a mile away. The bird was NOT relocated. I MIGHT go chasing the least tern tomorrow (Thurs), but welcome questions (via phone if you need answers soon). Randy Frederickson Willmar, Kandiyohi county 320 231-1291
