The floodgates of Swallow-tailed Kite migration have opened! Since Cypress, a Swallow-tailed Kite from Palm Beach County, Florida arrived on his breeding territory on March 10, additional GPS-tracked Swallow-tailed Kites are now within moments of taking the risky over-water crossing across the Gulf to their breeding grounds in the southeastern United States. In fact, Swallow-tailed Kites are over the ocean right now as you read this blog post.
Luckey Lox, also from Palm Beach County, Florida, was on the tip of the Yucatán Peninsula on 2 March, and we have not heard from her since. We can only hope that she made landfall in a location without cell service where she is unable to upload her tracking data. Swallow-tailed Kites can only survive over water for approximately three nights and four days without rest and food.
“On deck” to depart across the Gulf next are Astor from Lake County, Florida and Snuffbox Canal from McIntosh County, Georgia. We wish them a speedy tailwind for a safe over-ocean crossing!
Barrington from McIntosh County, Georgia as well as Belle River from Assumption Parish, Louisiana are in northern Honduras as I write this and will likely be the next Swallow-tailed Kites we monitor to reach the Yucatán.
Following close behind, Jupiter from Palm Beach County, Florida and Cinco from Collier County, Florida are currently on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica.
Additional data uploads will keep coming in from GPS-tagged Swallow-tailed Kites within remote areas of South America as they make their way north. Soon, their data will unfold revealing their migration stories too.
Keep your eyes to the skies and share your kite sightings with us:
This work would not be possible without our dedicated supporters and collaborators. For our current GPS-tracked Swallow-tailed Kites we thank:
American Bird Conservancy (ABC)
The Avian Reconditioning Center for Birds of Prey
Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program
Cellular Tracking Technologies CTT GSM-GPS transmitters
Florida Ornithological Society
Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge
Friends of the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges
Friends of the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge
Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge
Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge
McDaniel Charitable Foundation
Merrit Island Wildlife Association
Microwave Telemetry, Inc. Satellite transmitters
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Ornitela GSM-GPS transmitters
Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management
Palm Beach Zoo and Conservation Society
Parkside Elementary School, Collier Co. Florida
Sanibel-Captiva Audubon Society
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