Date: 9/18/25 11:01 am From: Barbara Volkle <barb620...> Subject: [MASSBIRD] Mississippi Kite Nesting Summary for NH - 2025
Thanks to Steve Mirick for compilling and posting this update.
Barbara Volkle Northborough, MA <barb620...>
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Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2025 11:04:30 -0400 To: NHBirds <nhbirds...>, Massbird Massbird <massbird...>, Maine Birds <maine-birds...> From: Steve Mirick <smirick...> Subject: Mississippi Kite Nesting Summary for NH - 2025
PLEASE NOTE - I WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP THE LOCATIONS OF MOST OR ALL OF THESE NESTS QUIET UNLESS THE CIRCUMSTANCES PERMIT AND I ENCOURAGE ANYONE WHO FINDS A NEST TO KEEP THE LOCATION SECRET. THE POPULARITY OF THESE BIRDS FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS (AND BIRDERS WITH CAMERAS) IS A MESSY SITUATION WITH HOME OWNERS AND NEIGHBORS. The kites don't seem to care at all, but the people do.
Mississippi Kites had a roller coaster summer in NH this year, but ended on a high note with TWO SUCCESSFUL NESTS AND TWO FLEDGED YOUNG! This is the first year with two fledged young since 2020. The Kites first became famous by nesting in Newmarket in 2008 and this is (at least) the 18th consecutive year that kites (between 1 and 4 pairs) have nested in New Hampshire in this isolated, rare, nesting colony.
DURHAM #1 - Things started out early with a Kite photographed in Durham on 5/11, but nesting activity didn't get going until a pair was seen in the vicinity of the UNH campus on May 30th and then copulating and nest building by mid-June! But Fish Crows continue to be a nuisance for the Durham pair and may be the reason (again) for their nesting failure. By the end of June it was apparent that the nest had FAILED!
NEWMARKET - Meanwhile over in Newmarket, things looked promising as well. A Kite appeared in early June and continued to be seen until it was joined by a 2nd bird. These two were seen copulating on June 14th!! But once again, the Newmarket birds were ephemeral!? The last report of any kites came on July 4th of a single bird. What happened? Kites have not been confirmed nesting in Newmarket now since 2019.
DOVER - by mid-August, things were looking very bleak for the Kites. Two territories, and two failures. But then a Kite was reported in DOVER (!) on August 23rd. No Kites had ever been reported up here! By the following day, two birds were reported! And then a nest with a single chick was located hidden high up and deep in a White Pine tree in someone's back yard in a residential neighborhood. Barely visible. The chick was large and likely fledged somewhere between 8/25 and 8/28. The chick continued to be seen flying around the neighborhood at least until September 8th when it would have been between 11 and 14 days after fledging. This nest is approximately 3 miles distance from the Durham #1 neighborhood and is not likely to be the failed nesters from Durham.
DURHAM #2 - An eBird report of a "glimpse" of a Kite in an area of southern Durham on August 24th inspired Jane and I to search the area. This is also where Kite activity (but no nest) was observed in 2024. So we went out on August 25th and found another nest! Our 2nd Kite nest discovery in two days!!! Once again, with a single large kite chick. And once again in a large white pine in a residential neighborhood in someone's back yard. It's estimated that this Kite fledged on September 1st or 2nd. It was still in the area and being fed by one adult on 9/13 and likely departed the area sometime after September 14th. This is the latest nest that I know of in NH and highlights how late their nesting season can take place. Working backward, I estimated that incubation likely started in the last week of June or possibly even into the first of July!
Unfortunately, no birds at all were reported from Stratham or Greenland where they have nested in past years.
A summary of confirmed fledged Kites (and pairs of kites present) from recent years in NH:
