The pair of kites returned in late May and were finally confirmed nesting in mid-July on private property.
Stilt sandpiperWHAT WE'VE SPOTTED
* Western sandpiper, Forsythe (Brigantine) National Wildlife Refuge
* Stilt sandpiper, N.J. Meadowlands, Lyndhurst
* Roseate tern, Morgan
* Olive-sided flycatcher, Hopewell
* Vesper sparrow, Bedminster
A long-expected New Jersey nester has now been confirmed -- a Mississippi kite was discovered in Waretown.
The state's first Mississippi kite was supposedly observed in the fall of 1981, when Cape May Hawkwatch's official counter and two hawk watchers are said to have seen what they originally thought was a peregrine falcon pass the hawkwatch platform and then believed was a kite. From about that point on, the Mississippi kite became a regular visitor in late May and early June in the area of the Beanery (Rea Farm) and Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area in Cape May. Most of the birds appearing were sub-adults, with an occasional adult appearing.
The reports of adult birds being spotted led to speculation that a nesting pair was in the Garden State -- since there had been birds spending summers in Cape May and Cumberland counties in the 1990s -- but no nest was ever found. The Mississippi kite's normal nesting range was north to North Carolina, but, in 2008, nests were discovered in New Hampshire and Connecticut. Two years later, kites were confirmed nesting in New York and, in 2012, a pair nested in Stirling Forest -- just a few miles from the Jersey border.
Last year, a pair of Mississippi kites spent several weeks in a Waretown neighborhood and were observed by many birders, but again, a nest was never seen. This year, the pair returned in late May and were finally confirmed nesting in mid-July on private property. One of the birds, presumably the male, was observed dropping prey into a conifer to an awaiting bird and the mystery was solved.*
Over the last 30 years or so, the newest nesting birds in New Jersey include the black-necked stilt and Wilson's snipe (each only once); sandhill crane; yellow-bellied sapsucker; royal tern; and double-crested cormorant.
Other birds of note making a stop in the Garden State include a white-faced ibis at Forsythe (Brigantine) National Wildlife Refuge; a ruff in the N.J. Meadowlands; and the continuing brown booby at Merrill Creek Reservoir, in Warren County.
* Thanks to Bill Boyle for providing much of the data on the Mississippi kites.
This column is compiled and written by Pete Bacinski, longtime New Jersey birder and retired NJ Audubon All Things Birds program director. Questions or comments should be directed to him by emailing petebacinski@comcast.net.
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