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This YBK visited our campsite each day and slept there at night too.

Two YBK stories:

1. Mrs P once had a chicken wing snatched out of her hand at Letaba by a YBK. We had no warning and hadn't even seen it circling. One minute we were chatting over lunch, the next second we were both screaming in panic! She ended up with a scratch on her thumb, but otherwise, it was a surgically-executed strike

2. Going back to BB's original post and comments about the birds being gregarious when feeding we had an amazing sighting up in Hwange, in Zim during the recent game census when we watched a squadron of about 12 birds following each other on dive bombing missions over a waterhole./ They were snatching frogs out of the water.

On nearly every dive a bird picked up a big frog, but they only had about a 50 per cent success rate and keeping the slippery frogs in their talons. It was amazxing and quite funny (though not for the frogs) to see the poor amphibians flying through the air and being dropped like skipping stones.

Tony,

What an awesome experience! The chicken wing grab and go, would have been amazing and somewhat scary to witness, I am sure the SO was not amused. I would have loved to watch the frog dive bombing runs. I saw your photo of the flying frog on your blog, what a great shot!

My SO and I are fascinated with Raptors, and have a number in our area of America that are great to watch. Red-tailed Hawk, Cooper's Hawk and Sharp-shinned Hawks live nearby, and we see them regulary. We also have American Bald Eagles that fly over our house on occasion.

Here are some pictures of a Yellow-Billed Kite that I took last year.








They are truly amazing birds!

Taken on the bridge over the Oli river, where you can get out. Think I got some in-flights of him too.



Love kites.

Here is one I photographed in Kruger last week at a Lion kill.

I don't see them in our neck of the woods, anymore. Have they migrated already?

Helloooo!
Has anyone seen them go?

Was this the first YELLOW BILLED KITE to arrive in the greater Durban area this season?
I saw it above N2 toll road near Tongaat toll plaza and new airport on Sat 31 July at 10:30 a.m.
Let us know where and when you see the new arrivals.

Without seeing the pic, it is difficult to say. However, for the last 3 years I have recorded the dates on which the YBK arrived back here in Amanzimtoti:

1. 2007 - 07/08/2007
2. 2008 - 23/08/2008
3. 2009 - 09/08/2009

So, it is quite possible especially if one takes into account the warm weather we have experienced in the last week or so.(?!?)

First, some background information on the Yellow-billed Kite.

It is treated at the moment as the same species as Black Kite under the Black Kite name. In other words, there is only one Kite and that is Black Kite. In saying all this, not all the birding bodies have adapted to this yet and even SABAP2 treats them as separate species with Yellow-billed Kite as the more common bird.

Although it is believed that some Black Kites overwinter in our region it has not yet been proved.

From previous years' SABN records I can point out that these birds were seen very early in June:

2010


2009




2008



2007



And then a very interesting reply from Barry Porter.



Scientifically recorded.
If you look at records on SABAP2 you will also notice that there are records on Yellow-billed Kite which shows sightings nicely throughout winter:

http://sabap2.adu.org.za/species_maps.php?Spp=129

Regards

Very interesting, indeed, WTM!

I based my observations on the fact that there is a nest close to our home and it always is 'vacant' throughout winter, but year after year I find the YBK coming back on the dates given above, in order to do the necessary alterations / home maintenance before moving back in again.

Their beautiful call, to me, is a sure sign that summer is on it's way...

Hey WTM, what do you base your lumped kites on? I also thought they were lumped (and in the process of being split) but Hugh Chittenden (author of e.g. Roberts Fieldguide) assured me they are split. The species are also split by the Percy FitzPatrick Institute, Sinclair & Ryan, SABAP2 and a number of international bodies.

Who can clarify? Can I tick the Yellow-billed Kite AND the Black Kite (providing I find it)?

Hi Joel,

Here is the reference material to your Yellow-billed Kite/Black Kite query.

It was pointed out to me on the 25th of January this year by good ole beer drinking birder, Niall Perrins. Those who don't know Niall, do yourself a favor and visit his site.

Interesting, thanks. For personal use it's a tough one, especially since most Southern African experts have already splitted the species. I usually follow Sinclair & Ryan (who soon will publish a second edition of their fantastic Birds of Africa South of the Sahara). To be included on the IOC World List there needs to be an official scientific publication for the species to 'prove' the split is correct. This can lead to weird situations, e.g. the research on Beesley's Lark in Northern Tanzania has never been published so this bird has never been included on the IOC World List. Sinclair & Ryan are a bit more practical about these things and use African ortnithological reality as their guide (and thus include Beesley's Lark).

As for the kites: let me first see a Black Kite (M. migrans migrans) and then I suppose I'll have to bite some bullet.

I, and others share the same sentiment, think that it is highly unlikely to find "Black Kite" (if you want to keep it separate) in our region. And that most "Black Kites" are immature Yellow-billed Kites. But again, that is just my personal view on it.