Two Mississippi Kites Flying Over a Busy Parking Lot
Late this afternoon two Mississippi Kites circled and soared over the parking lot of a Target store on the Atlanta Highway in Athens. It was a sunny, very warm and humid afternoon, with lots of big white clouds. The two Kites were not flying particularly low, but low enough to see their round white heads, as well as their sleek, slender shapes and graceful pattern of flight.
I was just beginning to back out of a parking space when I saw them – and I think I caused a minor traffic jam as I stopped right there to watch as long as they were in view. The traffic jam was not because of me – but the SUV that was waiting impatiently for my spot.
It seemed strange to see such wild and graceful raptors in such a busy, noisy urban place, but there’s a wooded ridge above the shopping center and the Middle Oconee River and more wooded areas are, perhaps, not far away as a Kite flies.