Ed Delabama
Member
Good afternoon to all-
So, I was just coming in a bit ago from finishing up the yard mowing- hotter than the hinges of hell it is, and humid enough to make a brick sweat... and I looked up high for some reason.
There, circling not fifty feet above me as it hunted through the tree tops for insects, lizards, and small slow birds was a swallowtail kite. For those of you who are not ornithologically inclined, swallowtail kites are raptors- like falcons, hawks and eagles. And these big birds- their wingspan is something between three and four feet in adults- are in my opinion the most graceful and aerobatic of all flying birds. Swallowtail kites are purest of white with black wingtips. Extremely attractive birds, they are. These birds fly at speed and they can turn and roll in a hard- to- believe short space. Swallowtail kites are summer residents here on the Gulf Coast, and they bring a good deal of pleasure to me whenever I see one.
This bird flew and circled and rose and dropped for quite a while as I stood and watched- mouth open in amazement- before it hunted itself on down our road.
I would love to have tried to get a photo of this bird, but it would be like trying to photograph an angel, I think. Even if I did get a good photo, no one would believe that anything so beautiful could exist.
I valued the big glass of iced tea I drank when I went inside, but I value seeing that bird even more.
you all be safe and keep well- Ed
So, I was just coming in a bit ago from finishing up the yard mowing- hotter than the hinges of hell it is, and humid enough to make a brick sweat... and I looked up high for some reason.
There, circling not fifty feet above me as it hunted through the tree tops for insects, lizards, and small slow birds was a swallowtail kite. For those of you who are not ornithologically inclined, swallowtail kites are raptors- like falcons, hawks and eagles. And these big birds- their wingspan is something between three and four feet in adults- are in my opinion the most graceful and aerobatic of all flying birds. Swallowtail kites are purest of white with black wingtips. Extremely attractive birds, they are. These birds fly at speed and they can turn and roll in a hard- to- believe short space. Swallowtail kites are summer residents here on the Gulf Coast, and they bring a good deal of pleasure to me whenever I see one.
This bird flew and circled and rose and dropped for quite a while as I stood and watched- mouth open in amazement- before it hunted itself on down our road.
I would love to have tried to get a photo of this bird, but it would be like trying to photograph an angel, I think. Even if I did get a good photo, no one would believe that anything so beautiful could exist.
I valued the big glass of iced tea I drank when I went inside, but I value seeing that bird even more.
you all be safe and keep well- Ed
