Young raptor strays from nest

A Vernon Police Department animal control officer was called to the 2700 block of Bowie Wednesday morning for the report of a baby bald eagle on a home’s porch. What the officer found was a Mississippi Kite that was too young to fly.

In a Facebook post dated July 20, Wild Bird Rescue, Inc., in Wichita Falls, wrote, “This time of year my (Mississippi Kite) parents are raising chicks and some of us blow out of our nests, but others of us are down on the ground because we are getting ready to learn to fly! We don’t want you to accidentally kidnap us…”

Vernon Police Department Animal Control Officer Genaro Samano holds a young Mississippi Kite that was too young to fly but managed to find its way onto the front porch of a home Wednesday morning.

Wild Bird’s recommendation is that young Mississippi Kite’s be left alone if found, unless there are obvious injuries. A spokesperson for Wild Bird Rescue said that the birds’ parents feed their offspring, even when they are no longer in the nest.