Tweets, Saturday at 7:15pm a WHITE-TAILED KITE was flying northward at Gibson x 163rd about 4 miles west of Tenino. It carried a vole(?) in its talons, flying fairly high in waning daylight under heavy overcast (to an evening roost or nest?). This spot is roughly a mile north of the expansive fields along Gibson Rd that formerly hosted kites some years. Kites have evidently been absent from the area for about 5 years following a particularly heavy snowfall. I've heard it hypothesized that the snow evidently buried their food supply so they starved. (The Gibson fields have subsequently been developed, a loss of great raptor habitat.) Earlier, six WHIMBREL (a personal first for south county) were spotted in nearby fields along Gibson by a Black Hills Audubon group, one of several "goodies" in our 70-species quest in south Thurston County. Good birding!"
-- Paul Hicks / Tenino / phicks A T acce ssgrace DO T org




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