AUSTIN, Texas — The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center recently had some feathery visitors!
The Blackland Prairie Raptor Center (BPRC), located near Dallas, brought 11 rehabilitated Mississippi kite birds to the grasslands of the Wildflower Center to set them free.
"We are always looking for safe release sites to make sure our patients have the best chance possible once they return to the wild," said Hailey LeBaron, the raptor rehabilitation manager for the BPRC. "It is important that we release them in areas where migrating Mississippi kites are actively located, or where migrating groups are heading towards."
The Wildflower Center reports that kites are temporary summer residents in parts of North Texas, but their final destination is often further south in countries like Argentina and Venezuela. Their migration begins in early August and continues into September.
According to the center, a large part of the BPRC's bird release strategy was returning the kites to the wild mid-migration season.
"Knowing the terrain and the space, the [Wildflower] Center was a safe location to help get these patients closer to their migration cohorts," LeBaron said.
Rehabilitation staff lined up the temporary pet carriers at the Wildflower Center on a day in September. They unlatched the lids and waited. The center reports that there is no special science to releasing except patience.
One bird immediately stood up, stretched its wings and flew out to a nearby tree. But the rest seemed uncertain, continuing to stay inside their carriers.
However, one by one, the birds began to lift off. The center said the entire release took only minutes once the birds realized they were nursed back to health and free to fly away.
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