Mississippi Kites had a roller coaster summer in New Hampshire in 2025 but ended on a high note with two successful nests and two fledged young! This is the first year since 2020 that two young have fledged in New Hampshire.

The kites first became famous when they nested in Newmarket in 2008 and this is (at least) the 18th consecutive year that kites have nested in New Hampshire. 

Below is a summary of the nesting season at four different sites. The exact locations of nests are kept secret to ensure they remain undisturbed.

Durham I

Things started out early with a kite photographed in Durham on May 11, but nesting activity didn’t get going until a pair was seen in the vicinity of the University of New Hampshire campus on May 30 and then copulating and nest building by mid-June. Fish Crows continue to be a nuisance for this Durham pair and may be the reason (again) for their nesting failure. By the end of June, it was apparent that the nest had failed!

Newmarket

Meanwhile over in Newmarket, things looked promising. A kite appeared in early June and was then joined by a second bird. These two were seen copulating on June 14! Once again, however, the Newmarket birds were ephemeral! The last report of any kites was of a single bird on the Fourth of July. What happened? There have now been no kites confirmed to be nesting in Newmarket since 2019.

Dover

By mid-August, things were looking very bleak for the kites in their known locations (with failures in two territories), but then one was reported in Dover on August 23! No Mississippi Kites had ever been reported here before. By the following day, two birds had been seen and then a nest with a single chick was located hidden high up and deep in a White Pine tree in a backyard in a residential neighborhood. It was barely visible. The chick was large and likely fledged somewhere between August 25 and August 28. The chick continued to be seen flying around the neighborhood at least until September 8, when it would have been fledged for between 11 and 14 days. This nest is approximately three miles from the Durham I nest neighborhood. The Dover kites are not likely to be the failed nesters from Durham.

Mississippi Kite adult brings food to a chick by Steve Mirick, 2025, Dover, NH.

Durham II

An eBird report of a “glimpse” of a kite in an area of southern Durham on August 24 inspired Jane and I to search the area. This is also where kite activity (but no nest) was observed in 2024. On August 25, we found another nest, a second kite nest discovery in two days! Once again, there was a single large kite chick. Also once again, it was in a large White Pine in a residential neighborhood backyard. It’s estimated that this chick fledged on September 1 or 2. It was still in the area and being fed by one adult on September 13 and likely departed the area sometime after that. This is the latest nest that I know of in New Hampshire and it highlights how long their nesting season can last. Working backward, I estimated that incubation likely started in the last week of June or possibly even into the beginning of July.

Unfortunately, no birds were reported from Stratham or Greenland where they have nested in past years.

Here is a summary of confirmed fledged Mississippi Kites (and pairs of kites present) from recent years in New Hampshire:

• 2017: 0 (3 pairs)
• 2018: 3 (3 pairs)
• 2019: 2 (3 pairs)
• 2020: 3 (3 pairs)
• 2021: 1 (4 pairs)
• 2022: 1 (4 or 5 pairs)
• 2023: 1 (4 pairs)
• 2024: 0 (3 pairs)
• 2025: 2 (4 pairs)

Mississippi Kite juvenile flying by Steve Mirick, 2025, Dover, NH.