On Sat, 29 Apr 1995 MBEB1215 at delphi.com wrote:

>
> Later, from the Nisqually River side of the dike trail we
> > looked west and saw in the distance a light colored bird with
> white tail and black marks on the wings. It was so far distant we
> couldn't tell exactly what part of the wing was black. From its
> hovering behavior however, we tentatively identified it as a
> Black-shouldered kite. How common are they at Nisqually (I can't
> find my Nisqually check list, con sarn it!)?

> Michael B. Brown
>
> Puyallup, WA
>
> MBEB1215 at delphi.com

Michael--

Given the white tail and black marks on the wings, it sure looks like you
may have seen a Black-Shouldered Kite..however, the male N. Harrier would
be my suspicion..given the distance..admittedly, I haven't been to the
Delta recently, but the usual run of things out there has many
female Harriers with only an occasional male. That makes the appearance
of the male, always a noteworthy event. But, I seem to recall there has
been a kite reported out there before..In past years I've seen them south of
OLY in the Raymond, Pe Ell area, but not as far north as OLY...next time
you're there you might want to check the running list of sightings available
at the Ranger station..it's mounted on clipboard outside the office. The kite
is not a regular visitor at the Delta so someone else may have reported it.

Tom