Mississippi Kite has been confirmed to be nesting in Wisconsin for the first time. The bird’s breeding range has been expanding slowly northward, and for the last several years, a pair has nested in Rockford, Illinois, about 17 miles south of the states’ common border. A juvenile grounded near Janesville, Wisconsin, about 15 miles north of the border, in August 2015 suggested the possibility of breeding. Then, in July 2016, local birders and volunteers with the Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas II spotted two adults near the place where the youngster was found the year before. They soon located a nest with a growing chick. It fledged in August.

A version of this article appeared in the December 2016 issue of BirdWatching, which will go on sale at Barnes & Noble and other newsstands in early November. Subscribe.

See photos of Mississippi Kite.

Second Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas kicks off; eBird to play critical role (March 2015).

Expanding eastward: American White Pelican is now breeding in Wisconsin (June 2014).

 

Originally Published October 28, 2016