Migration is risky and can even be deadly. Swallow-tailed Kites that breed in the U.S. are one of thousands of species that migrate two times each year. Many species like the Swallow-tailed Kite have long, potentially dangerous, over-water crossings where they cannot get food or land to rest.
ARCI, together with Orleans Audubon Society have been tracking Swallow-tailed Kite migration since the 1990’s. We are always amazed as the flight paths of these kites unfold when they reach their breeding areas. This week we were pleased to “hear” from three kites that had not reported since August on their southbound migration. The trackers they are outfitted with use the cellular network for uploading locations and often the networks are not compatible with the tracker. The trackers collect the location data each day and store the data until they can make a connection to a compatible tower.
These three kites were tagged in Florida in 2025; Astor from Lake County, Martin from Palm Beach County and Suwannee Scout from Dixie County. Astor and Martin have just arrived on their breeding grounds and Suwannee Scout is almost to the Florida Panhandle.
Belle River made it home to Louisiana. Barrington came across the Gulf to Louisiana and is on the move to Georgia. Snuffbox Canal arrived to his breeding grounds in McIntosh County, Georgia. In South Florida, Cypress and Martin are on territory in Palm Beach County while Peter’s Creek from South Carolina just arrived to the Everglades.
In Central America, Jupiter and Cinco from Florida are both in Nicaragua, Simmon’s Creek from South Carolina is almost to Mexico and Abita Flatwoods is in Quintana Roo, Mexico. We are most worried about Luckey Lox from Florida that last reported 10 days ago from the northern Yucatán. By now she should have checked in from the U.S. but may have succumbed to poor weather and strong headwinds preventing her from reaching land.
Keep your eyes to the skies and share your kite sightings with us:
If you are seeing nesting behavior and want to assist ARCI with nest monitoring please join Eyes on Kites:
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
Adult Swallow-tailed Kite seen flying over US 319 and Hwy 267, Crawfordville, FL, approximately 2:15 PM EST, on 3/19/26.