Tracking Swallow-tailed Kites across the globe using a global cellular network has its pros and cons. As you have probably experienced with your own phone, cell service is spotty. Well, it is even spottier across remote parts of South America. And to add to the frustration, the networks are changing from old 2G/3G to LTE and some of these towers are not even compatible with the upload capabilities of the transmitters on the kites.
But we have been fortunate to get data from two Swallow-tailed Kites from Palm Beach County. Both birds were tagged on lands managed by Palm Beach County Environmental Resources Management (ERM).
PBC-ERM Male’s transmitter is reaching the end of its life, so we get sporadic data uploads from him. Luckily, he was able to send an upload from the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil where he has spent the last two winters. He arrived at his winter range fast on 29 September, which is when we received the last location.
Jeaga #1, a female Swallow-tailed Kite has been our most predictable kite as far as getting data uploads. She has a very different wintering strategy, taking her time going south, lingering in the state of Acre and has taken the month of November to pass through Rondônia, Brazil. Today she is north of Cerejeiras, Rondônia, Brazil, 150 miles NW of PBC-ERM Male. This is very similar to the pattern she took last winter, slowly edging south until January when she quickly reversed her track.
We will fill you in as the migration continues.
We are grateful to our partnership with Palm Beach County’s Department of Environmental Resources Management (ERM) and the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society, in conjunction with long-time Zoo sponsor Florida Power & Light Company, who generously provided funding for the solar-powered GSM-GPS transmitters that are providing the amazing data as part of this vital conservation effort.
Thank you, reader, for your interest in these Swallow-tailed Kites and the Avian Research and Conservation Institute.
Thank you for tracking and reporting the migration of these two lovely birds! We live in Palm Beach county and look forward to their visit each spring!
We look forward to them returning too! Thanks for your interest in Swallow-tailed Kites-they sure are marvelous!
March 1st… I am always looking up in West Palm Beach….sofar I have not seen one but to my amazement I saw a Bald Eagle and a woman on a walk said she saw it too…. can’t wait to see one of my favorite birds.