Date: 5/6/25 7:39 pm From: Wayne Hoffman (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Kite show at Winnabow is beginning
The last few years Mississippi Kites and Swallow-tailed Kites have gathered in May over an area of farm fields at the village of Winnabow, in Brunswick County, with Laughing Gulls, to feed on flying Japanese Beetles. In previous years I have seen numbers as high as 125 Mississippi Kites and 25+ Swallow-tailed Kites in the air together. The gulls hawk insects closer to the ground with the kites generally staying above them.
I checked it out at about 11:15 this morning, and found 25-30 Mississippi and 4 Swallow-tailed kites, along with 200+ Laughing Gulls. In previous years the peak activity tended to be in mid-May.
The location is off Hwy 17 on Governors Road, in the first mile or so. Lat.Long is around 34.15N, -78.08W.
