Date: 6/20/25 1:59 pm From: Kenneth Kinman <kinman...> Subject: My western kingbirds
Hi All,
My pair of Western Kingbirds arrived about the usual time in late April. And she began trying to build a nest around the usual time on that metal bracket attached to the telephone pole. However, she couldn't get nesting material to stick, even though she tried for 10 days. Breezes just blew the nesting material off. When they replaced the telephone pole last year, I guess they might have replaced the metal bracket as well, and the new one was just too slick for nesting material to stick to it.
Anyway, I then saw her collecting nesting material below the telephone pole, but flying off with it somewhere down the alley, so they obviously found a new nesting site nearby this year. I still sometimes see them perched near this old nesting site where they pursue flying insects to eat, so I still get to see them from time to time.
Then today, I saw them landing on the utility wire near this old nesting site acting quite excited, and the male mounting the female. Then flying off down the alley where there new nesting site is apparently located. It amazes me that they would still return near the old nesting site to mate, but I guess old habits are hard to break. I certainly enjoy seeing them like this from time to time, but sad that I won't see them raising their nestlings this year.
—-----------Ken Kinman (Hays, Kansas)
Weblink to my "Kingbird nest interrupted" posts last year: https://listserv.ksu.edu/cgi-bin?A2=KSBIRD-L;95a2ada3.2407&S= -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
