This morning, a flock of six Mississippi kites skimmed the treetops in our neighborhood, feasting on the countless cicadas. Such a windfall of nutrition does not go wasted in nature.
The periodic cicadas seem to be reaching their peak emergence, landing on anything or anyone that they encounter. As I worked in the yard today, I regularly brushed them from my cap or shoulders and they (or their exoskeleton) adorned almost every plant on our property.
As for the kites, which seem to be increasingly common summer residents in Central Missouri, the slow-moving cicadas are easy targets. After filling their bellies, they ascended to higher altitudes, soaring above the city and letting other, less agile birds attack the hapless insects.
