Tag: mating

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White-tail Kite Fly By

A white-tailed kite perches on a tree stump, surveying the landscape around it
A white-tailed kite perches on a tree stump, surveying the landscape around it

A little while ago I visited Arastradero Preserve in Palo Alto, CA in order to get some photos of some of the white-tail kites that live there. And I was certainly not disappointed. I climbed a large hill in order to get above some of the trees on which they perch while they are not hunting. I quickly saw one of the kites and slowly made my way toward its tree.

A white-tailed kite perches on a tree branch, surveying the landscape around it
A white-tailed kite perches on a tree branch, surveying the landscape around it

With my eye glued to the view finder, I had my lens tight in on this bird, capturing shots of it flying up and back to various branches on the tree. Suddenly a dark form darted by just above the kite. Luckily, my photography training was to shoot first and ask questions later, and I capture a single frame of what I later saw to be another kite flying at the first one.

A male white-tail kite flies past a female, which reacts to his close proximity
A male white-tail kite flies past a female, which reacts to his close proximity

I quickly realized what was going on, as the male came in for another pass, this time reaching his target, and landing on top of the female.

A male white-tail kite approaches a female from behind and mates with it
A male white-tail kite approaches a female from behind and mates with it

The male quickly mated with the female, and just as quickly flew away. And before you ask, yes I do have photos, but hey, this is a family friendly blog!

A male white-tail kite approaches a female from behind and mates with it
A male white-tail kite approaches a female from behind and mates with it

I’ve never seen this before or since, and I definitely know that I wouldn’t have been able to capture these shots if I hadn’t already had the female framed and in focus. Sometimes you just get lucky….

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Splashy splashy – love is in the air

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I want to share the more cuddly moments of the mating ritual of the American Avocet, which remains one of the most interesting and unexpected behaviors of birds I have witnessed first hand. I have written about this ritual before, but recently I was able to acquire much better photographs to illustrate this strange little dance.

After the male chases the female around for a while, the female finally signals her acceptance of the male by flattening out her body parallel to the water and jutting out her neck. The male stands next to her and splashes water over her head, signaling his intent.

A female american avocet assumes the mating position while the male splashes water next to her
A female american avocet assumes the mating position while the male splashes water next to her

After the couple have their special “moment” together, then begins the truly unusual and surprisingly sweet interplay between the genders. The male keeps one wing wrapped around the female and crosses bills with her.

As the male american avocet dismounts after mating, he crosses bills with the female as part of a post-mating ritual. They walk in a circle with bills crossed and then walk in a straight line, side by side.
As the male american avocet dismounts after mating, he crosses bills with the female as part of a post-mating ritual. They walk in a circle with bills crossed and then walk in a straight line, side by side.

As soon as the male is back in the water, he leads the female in a 360 degree turn, the entire time keeping their bills crossed. Every time I have seen this, this part of the ritual is the same. I’m not sure if this is to somehow solidify the bond between the two birds, but it seems to be a necessity.

Two american avocets cross bills as they walk side-by-side in a circle, part of their post-mating ritual
Two american avocets cross bills as they walk side-by-side in a circle, part of their post-mating ritual

Once the requisite turn is made, the two march off in a straight line together, side by side.

As the male american avocet dismounts after mating, he crosses bills with the female as part of a post-mating ritual. They walk in a circle with bills crossed and then walk in a straight line, side by side.
As the male american avocet dismounts after mating, he crosses bills with the female as part of a post-mating ritual. They walk in a circle with bills crossed and then walk in a straight line, side by side.

Soon after, each bird goes back to whatever they were doing before expressing their partnership. The couple remains together throughout the nesting season.

May you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day – hopefully you get to spend it with your sweetheart!

Copyright 2017 Hank Christensen