Suwannee Arts and Nature Festival

Board member Debbie Jordan at the Festival

On March 14, board member Debbie Jordan staffed a Friends of Refuges table at the Suwannee Arts and Nature Festival.  Though not as many came as in former years, many local folks attended. Others came from Gainesville to participate in a festival kayaking expedition led by Lars Anderson. Musicians, including Friends board member Matt Chatowsky, provided live entertainment.

Offering brochures about the Refuge, membership applications and Swallow-tailed Kite T-shirts, we raised almost $200 for the Swallow-tailed Kite Migration Fund and recruited nine new and renewing members.

According to Debbie, the most fun part of the day was having a chance to tell people about the incredible 10,000-mile migration of Swallow-tailed Kites. The Friends partnered with National Audubon to outfit and track Suwannee, “our” Swallow-tailed Kite for two years.  Through the tracking research, we are learning first-hand where the kites go when they leave our area . . . all the way down to Mato Grosso, Brazil!

Breaking Good News -- Suwannee has returned to Florida!  You can see his migration path here  https://www.audubon.org/news/the-secret-lives-swallow-tailed-kites  Amazingly, as this photo shows, on the final leg of his return trip, he flew directly across the Gulf of Mexico and did not stick to being over land as he did on his trip south.

To donate to this cause, you may mail a check to
Friends of Refuges, P.O. Box 532, Cedar Key, FL  32625
Please notate Suwannee’s Migration Fund.

Musician photos by Hailey Wilson

Board member Matt playing at the Festival