Eyes to the SKY! The Swallow-tailed Kites are back!

Suwannee 22 (in White) arrived in the Florida Panhandle on 4 March.
Learn to listen for their calls here.

Northbound GPS-tracked Swallow-tailed Kites on March 12, 2024.

According to Researcher Gina Kent of the Avian Research and Conservation Institute (ARCI) the Swallow-tailed Kites have been seen in the local area. Sightings have been reported from the following Florida Counties: Brevard, Dixie, Duval, Charlotte, Citrus, Hillsborough, Lake, Leon, Levy, Marion, Palm Beach, Polk, River, St. Lucie, Volusia, Wakulla, and Washington. There even have been a few in the state of Georgia!

Friends helped support the tracker that has recorded travel by Suwannee 22, the Swallow-tailed Kite for the past several 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. The project is part of ongoing ARCI research, whose Executive Director Dr. Ken Meyer was the featured speaker at our 2020 Annual Meeting.

Friends' board member Robin Gallup, and her dog, grabbed this video of a Swallow-tailed Kite on the Refuge on March 13.

Take Action:
If you see Swallow-tailed Kite nesting behavior, help ARCI by reporting and observing your nesting kites through the breeding season.  Follow the Eyes on Kites program here: https://www.arcinst.org/eyes-on-kites/

Learn more about Swallow-tailed Kites here.
 
Hawkwatch International is a great site for Raptor lovers!
 
Looking to hone your bird ID skills? Try the Merlin Bird ID app or the Bird Academy from Cornell Lab.