White-Tailed Kites, Juvenile Antics

These are the three juvenile white-tailed kites that lived in the Laguna De Santa Rosa in the summer of 2020. They were often perched like this in the tops of trees near the waterway. I tried locating their nest but was unsuccessful. The juveniles can be distinguished from the adults by the brown markings on their upper bodies. I find the juveniles to be particularly beautiful birds and they are a joy to watch and photograph. They will often be in unusual positions in the air and it is hard to figure out if they are doing it on purpose or if it is part of their learning to fly process. The pictures that follow capture one of the juveniles doing a somersault in the air.

First camera frame of the somersault, above. That is the adult on the left.

As it continues to roll, notice the feather that has dislodged and is just to the right of the kite in this image.

Coming back upright, notice the feather's location at about 2 o'clock from the juvenile.

As he comes around a bit more you can see the feather being left behind.

And now, finally, pretty much recovered from his adventurous antics in the sky. Is he just having fun? Or did he just lose control?

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