[va-bird] Kites

I spoke to Ned Brinkley on Sunday, and the Field Guides tour he and George 
Armistead are currently leading noted a Mississippi Kite 23 May in the City of 
Portsmouth.  I believe the bird was seen from I-264, but beyond that I'm 
uncertain of precise location.  Victory Road or something like that?  I'm just 
not 
certain. 
Steve Rottenborn and party had a first-summer Mississippi Kite 22 May at the 
parking lot at the end of Jericho Ditch at the Great Dismal Swamp, Suffolk, VA.

Ned also relayed information that a couple of competent birders on his tour 
arrived in the Norfolk area a few days before it began, and saw a kite hovering 
over the fields at Norfolk Airport that they believed might have been a 
White-tailed Kite.  Les Willis reported this species in Virginia 3 April, and 
there 
have been reports to the south and north of us this year in the east.  Take a 
good look at those raptors.  

On Saturday 22 May, Sue Heath and I headed down to the 
Emporia/Greensville/Southampton area.  The plan was to stay all weekend, but we 
ended up chasing 
birds at Chincoteague instead.  We did manage to find a few Mississippi Kites 
in 
Greensville and Southampton Counties on Saturday.  The best spots were along 
Route 730 at the Meherrin River where three birds delighted us overhead.  This 
spot also had a singing Swainson's Warbler, which it has at least since 2002.  
We also had three Mississippis on Route 660 in Greensville County.  We had 
singles in other locations.  For anyone heading down there to see kites, its 
always worked for me just to drive around until you see them.  The same spots 
don't always produce from year to year, or even week to week.  South of US 58, 
east of 95, and in Virginia is where I've done most of my hunting, especially 
the area marked as Little Texas on the De Lorme, but also right in the City of 
Emporia. 

23 May, Sunday, we checked some areas in western Greensville and Brunswick 
Counties for Bachman's Sparrow.  The last (and only) spot I've seen one in 
Virginia in 2002 no longer looks good to me for them.  However there are a 
couple 
areas along Route 602 straddling the county line that does look good.  We 
didn't find any Bachman's, but also didn't give it the effort we could have.  

Cheers,

Todd

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Todd Michael Day
Jeffersonton, Virginia, USA
Culpeper County
BlkVulture@xxxxxxx
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