Hi Everyone,

Sorry for the belated post. Last weekend, I went to the area near Tenino where White-tailed Kite has been reported several times (Gibson Rd. and 173rd St. intersection just east of exit 88 off I-5). After spending a good hour and a half looking for the bird(s) with no success, I did some hiking and then opted for one last stop to try for the kite. There I met two other Tweeters (Sandy and Kevin if my feeble memory - handicapped by having lost my note pad - is reliable) who had also looked unsuccessfully for the kite. We exchanged cell phone numbers and I headed for the freeway and home, resigned to not seeing the bird. Shortly before I was ready to hop on I-5 north, I got 'the call' - the bird had been found about a half mile east of Gibson Road, actively hunting over part of its apparent territory. A quick U-turn and a few minutes later, I had the bird in my binocs. (Thanks SO much for the call, folks!!)

We watched it hover hunt and fly over the area at a pretty fair distance when it dropped down to the ground and out of sight. Shortly it emerged and made a beeline toward a stand of conifers much closer to where we were standing, providing an opportunity for some flight shots. One of the resulting images is at http://www.tubbsphoto.com/-/tubbsphoto/detail.asp?photoID=7079665&cat=38975. The lighting was not ideal and so the image is not top-quality, but it shows a nice view of field marks of the bird in flight. Also not immediately apparent on first glance at the image is that the bird is carrying a rodent that it caught when we saw it drop to the ground. We watched the bird devour its meal after it landed. In the image, you can see the prey as the dark gray lump behind the bird's talons.

Sandy and Kevin - if you would like a copy of the image file, contact me off-list and I'll be happy to send it to you.

John Tubbs
Snoqualmie, WA
johntubbs at comcast.net
www.tubbsphoto.com