Back on Memorial Day, as we Harwich Fahertys discussed what to do, I coyly suggested a family hike with some Upper Cape friends of ours. But where? “How about Santuit Pond in Mashpee?” I innocently suggested. Just by a complete coincidence, no connection at all, this is where up to three Swallow-tailed Kites had been seen consistently all spring. Imagine my surprise when I realized this! In all seriousness, the family knew full well why I was suggesting Santuit, and they were up for the kite safari.
As I’ve mentioned here a few times already this spring, Swallow-tailed Kites — graceful, pointy-winged, black-and white raptors who normally nest from South Carolina to South America — have been in mysterious residence on the Upper Cape for several breeding seasons in a row. But the sightings other years were scattered over an area from South Sandwich and Mashpee to Marstons Mills and Osterville, with no way to connect the dots and triangulate a possible nest site. Believe me, I know — I have one of those conspiracy theorist maps on my wall with yarn connecting the push-pins representing kite sightings. A pair was seen mating in late July of 2022, but this was clearly just recreational as it was months too late to start nesting. What was going on with these birds hanging out nine states north of their breeding range summer after summer?
One of the reasons I really wanted to check out the kite scene at Santuit last week was some photos that birders had just gotten of the birds carrying sticks — nesting material. This was as close to a smoking gun as we had. On our Memorial Day hike, my family and I saw one kite before we even started thanks to local birder Sheryl Johnson. She called us back from the trail to point one out over the pond across the street. It was pretty high and occasionally dove on one of the local Ospreys. We didn’t see another kite on our entire hike of the conservation area, not even at the old bog where many of the sightings had been. But a tip from some friends we met on the trail sent us to a nearby area where they had seen the kites more than once, and that’s where things got weird.
This was just supposed to be a quick check on our way to the local ice cream shop, but as we slow rolled through the place they mentioned, I saw two Swallow-tailed Kites fly out of a tree and start circling low over the neighborhood, one clutching a cicada in its foot — they were breathtaking, and I couldn’t believe our luck. I hopped out and started scanning the tree for a nest, but saw none. But I did see even more kites. All told, five kites were all there roosting in the same tree, mid-afternoon. This was a new state high count for the species. I later checked eBird reports and saw that one or two others had seen five kites over the bog that morning, so I was not the first. Either way, this was an incredible development in the mystery of the Upper Cape Swallow-tailed Kites.
Some have speculated that this is a family group including a nesting pair and young from a previous year’s successful nesting in the area. Swallow-tailed Kites are gregarious in all seasons, and it’s possible there’s more than one nest in the area. Seeing that many in the same tree brought me back to my Everglades days, where I would see small flocks of a dozen or more roosting together before migrating back to South America in late summer.
Will anyone find a nest at Santuit? Not yet, as far as I know, but stay tuned here for future developments. Meanwhile, Barnstable birder Hans Holbrook found the other kind of kite, a Mississippi Kite, hanging out in his neighborhood near Centerville. It’s been there a week, sometimes perching in his yard. This is another graceful, southern, largely insect-eating hawk. This kite was always an eagerly anticipated May and June overshoot rarity, as mainly young birds got blown well north of their normal breeding range in the southern tier states. That kite was still there as recently as yesterday. Which makes me wonder, would Hans mind if I took my family on a hike in his yard?
