Very early this year, about five families of Black-shouldered Kites fledged their young over about a three week period. The mice seemed also to have had a little population explosion of their own in one of the near-by fields and the families moved in to both train their young and feed them. Some of the more advanced young were quite capable of hunting on their own, but it didn’t stop them trying to score a meal from a harassed father as he flew in with a mouse for one of his young.
For a week or so there would as many as 16 Kites all airborne or sitting on fence posts consuming a meal.

But, as it works out, as the young grew stronger and the free feeding ceased and no doubt the mice went on a well deserved holiday, the young Kites began to disperse. The adults that had flown in to supervise, also moved back to their own territory. The female of the home pair also took off, not unusual to see that happen as she needs to build up her strength after 8 weeks or more of sitting on eggs and young. The male continued to stay around and watch over the territory.

Two young juvenile Kites continued to roost together down at one end of the paddock, and as they both had a fair cover of juvenile colouring for several weeks we concluded they were from a clutch and hadn’t yet felt the need to move on.

However as time went on, and the juvenile feathers began to fade and the body language changed, it became clear what we were looking at was in fact a new pair. No doubt they had met up during the paddock mouse madness days, and well, like nature taking its course they became a couple. Now that their juvenile has mostly faded, and their eye colour is still a rich brown, it’s probably to early to conclude they are going to nest anytime in the future.
But it is rather charming to see them sitting happily together. Ahh, those teen-age years.

Enjoy