Exploring Pigeon Valley: The Yellow-billed Kite
The riches of Pigeon Valley Nature Reserve explained by Glenwood resident and chair of the Friends of Pigeon Valley.
This is the 58th in an ongoing series that highlights the riches of Pigeon Valley, the urban nature reserve in the heart of Glenwood. The focus of this article will be on the Yellow-billed Kite.
Until the recent arrival of a juvenile African Crowned Eagle – and then, to my surprise, a second Crowned Eagle this past weekend, the two most obvious raptors in Pigeon Valley have been, of course, the resident Black Sparrowhawk and the Yellow-billed Kite – though, as you walk through, you may easily disturb the African Goshawk as it awaits a prey.
The Yellow-billed Kite is surely the most easily seen as it patrols regularly over the reserve and over the surrounding suburbia. The Yellow-billed Kite has adapted well to human habitation, sometimes swooping down to pick up some roadkill that our vehicles have left. It manoeuvres with considerable dexterity, often angling its tail. For a time this species was merged into the Black Kite, which is also a visitor to South Africa, but DNA evidence now indicates that it is a distinct species.
ALSO READ: Exploring Pigeon Valley: The Juvenile African Crowned Eagle
It is of course a migrant, and its arrival early in August is the first sign of changing seasons. In our area, it breeds during its stay in the South. In the last few days, birds have left again to head north to more tropical area, so it has been around here for six months.
While many of us birdwatchers struggle with the identification of raptors, the outline of the Kite is very familiar, most notably the way in which the end of the tail is concave rather than convex. It is also unusual in that the adult has a fully yellow bill – though the bird in the photo, sunning its feathers on top of a tree in late February, is a juvenile and still has a dark section on the bill.
One of the most remarkable birding sights is to see a congregation of Kites gathering where the alates emerge in early summer, often catching the ‘flying ants’ in their claws.
Crispin Hemson chairs the Friends of Pigeon Valley, a group that undertakes clearing of alien plants, keeps records of bird and mammal sightings and alerts management to any problems.
The Friends have a monthly walk at 7.30am on the second Saturday of each month. Email: friendsofpigeonvalley1@gmail.com.
