A Case of Kite on Kite :: N2W 220416

Inspired by KL Caley’s #WRITEPHOTO Challenge to write a

short story about her April 14, 2022, photo prompt.

 

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Photo credit: KL Caley

“Okay, here we are Jace. Ready for one of your grandma’s sausage, cheese and grilled onion sandwiches?”

“You bet Grandpa!  They’re the best anywhere.”

“Ah she even threw in a couple apples and bags of chips. We should try and finish up before the battles start.  It looks like a few are getting their kites warmed up – and there goes the first one.  See if you can follow it with your binoculars.”

“I think I see it. It has a picture of a fighter jet with sticks sticking way out the sides”

“Ah – I see it too and those sticks are called spars. They are the frame that hold the kite together and when they stick out like that, they can damage their opponent’s kites.”

“This is going to be so cool Grandpa – like battle bots except with kites.  Thanks for skipping bird watching to bring me.”

“Oh, I can watch birds anytime. I only get to see you a few times a year. Look up goes another and it’s a big one. From here it looks like a classic Japanese stye.’

“There’s another, Grandpa! It looks like a bird with his claws out.”

“Keep your eye on that bird kite. I’ve seen him before and he’s really good. “

“I like how fast they can turn and dive – almost like real fighter  je. . . WHOA!  What was that?  Grandpa did you see that new smaller bird kite attack the first bird kite?”

“Yes I did and suspect . . .”

“The bird kite is falling. Wow – that other kite must have broken it. I didn’t think the battle had started yet. Ouch!  What a cool crash!”

“The match hadn’t started yet, and that was no kite.  That was a bird of some kind. Let me look it up. I got a quick look at him and suspect I know what it was but have never seen one myself.”

“Wow, that’s even cooler. A bird attached a bird-kite. Wait until I tell mom!”

“Okay, this matches what I saw; about a foot and a half long with a wingspan of almost a full yard, mostly light-gray. Jace, you’re going to love this, but that bird-of-prey kite was just destroyed by a live Mississippi Kite, a real bird-of-prey who will attack almost anything when they’re nesting.  My bird watching friends have told me that Vance Airforce Base often has problems with them once a year when they migrate here from South America to nest and raise their chicks.”

from Wikipeadia

from Pounders Bee

“Um Grandpa. I’m confused. Was that a bird or a kite?”

“That’s just it grandson — it was both, a live bird and a type of bird called ‘kites’, like an eagles or falcons, that was a kite; a live Mississippi Kite and I’d given almost anything to have caught that on video.”

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