ARCI has joined the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge and the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge on Swallow-tailed Kite projects since the 1990’s. More recently ARCI has put GSM/GPS transmitters (CTT) on kites that nested on these Refuges. Just recently the GPS units we deployed on a Suwannee Kite expired, but we know the bird nested on the Refuge and is alive and well.
So why do we want to track Swallow-tailed Kites? Based on ARCI experience since 1996 with remote tracking (using satellites and cell-phone networks to relay GPS fixes), we know that each tagged Swallow-tailed Kite will produce an enormous amount of highly accurate, unbiased location data that can be used to address important questions about the species’ conservation biology, including: nesting locations, home-range and core activity areas within the Refuges and pre-migration communal roost sites, and seasonal movements.
Funds for new 2022 tracking units were provided by the Friends of Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge and the Friends of the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge.
Welcome to the flock Calusa and Suwannee II!
Capturing these graceful fliers couldn’t be possible without the help of our Great Horned Owl friend “Nonamé” who attracts the kites to a large net. Nonamé is an education ambassador handled by Nicole Jones from the Avian Reconditioning Center in Apopka Florida.
It was an epic 24 hour of travel, clocking over 725 miles from Gainesville to Apopka, continuing to Collier County, back north through Apopka and then to Dixie County with back-to-back captures of two beautiful Swallow-tailed Kites.
Calusa was captured on the eve of a stormy night after a swamp buggy trek into the depths of the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge with USFWS biologists and the ARCI crew.
Suwannee II was captured the following evening, hundreds of miles away by a crew of two: Gina Kent of ARCI and Nicole Jones with the Avian Reconditioning Center.
Can’t wait to see where in the world these kites will take us!
Gina,
Do you know if the Swallow Tail Kites are still roosting at 1.5 miles north of Sandhill Crane Park on the Bluegill Trail? I have a friend who wants to see them and I am not sure if they have headed south yet. We have seen them within the last month but live an hour south. There were hundreds of them the last time we were there.
Thanks
Rick Gappen
Hi Rick, Yes there are some still N of Sandhill Crane Park. I hope they get to see some.