Swallow-tailed Kite Updates

Swallow-tailed Kite at Lower Suwannee NWR. Photo by Ann Kamzelski

As reported earlier, Friends helped support the tracker that has recorded travel by Suwannee the Swallow-tailed Kite for the past three years, The tracker provided Refuge Manager Andrew Gude with new and abundant data on the use of the Refuge by Swallow-tailed Kites, important  information for decisions about land management. Many of us have been following the remarkable journey of this bird annually between our Refuge and Brazil.

The project is part of ongoing research by the Avian Research and Conservation Institute. The Institute's Executive Director Ken Meyer was the featured speaker at our 2020 Annual Meeting.

Senior Researcher  Gina Kent told us the Institute had a lot of challenges with tracking this year because the GSM/cell technology is changing rapidly and the birds' older trackers are not able to download data to the new technology. In spring, they had not heard from Suwannee's tracker in five months and feared the tracker's battery had died. That was not unexpected after three years, but still was sad news.

Two Swallow-tailed Kites flying above the Nature Drive on Lower Suwannee NWR. Photo by Peg Hall

Then, in June, Gina  brought good news. After five months of silence, Suwannee contact a cell tower again. His tracker showed him to be safely back on the Lower Suwannee NWR. It turned out that the tracker could still communicate with the technology of our local cell towers.

Within a few weeks, however, his tracker did stop functioning. Gina believes Suwannee is still out there alive. They know he nested this year. We are still sorry to lose touch with this old friend.

Swallow-tailed Kite flying above the Nature Drive on Lower Suwannee NWR. Photo by Peg Hall

The next batch of good news is that Friends has been able to help with a new tracker for a new bird, Suwannee II. He will continue to bring the data on Refuge use and flight patterns, and Friends will be able to continue to follow a Swallow-tailed Kite with whom we all have a semi-personal connection.