Two GPS-tracked Swallow-tailed Kites from Sanibel, Florida return to a hurricane-changed island and persevere!

The last time Bailey’s Homestead and Sanibel Botanical, two GPS/GSM-tracked Swallow-tailed Kites saw their breeding grounds it had looked quite different than it did upon their return in 2023.  Hurricane Ian crossed the area in their absence, decimating homes, businesses, wild places, and many of the Australian Pine trees the kites and other birds nest in. 

As they are driven to do, Swallow-tailed Kites return to their former breeding location year after year.  It was to be expected that these two kites would do the same, but would they stay?  Would they find nesting sites, and food, and Spanish Moss to put in their nests after the hurricane? Both nest trees of Bailey’s Homestead and Sanibel Botanical were destroyed, thus they would be forced to find a new site.

After spending a night in northern Honduras, on 4 March, Sanibel Botanical flew across the ocean, due north, and though she came within sight of the Yucatán, she continued with a good tailwind arriving at Panama City, Florida two days later. For two more days she followed the Florida coast south to Sanibel, arriving on 8 March.

Bailey’s Homestead also flew across the ocean from northern Honduras on 12 March and made landfall on the Yucatán.  He reached the northern tip of the Yucatán in one day, then across the Gulf of Mexico for a three-day flight in some challenging winds that forced him on a westerly route, finally making landfall in Louisiana. He took four days to follow the Gulf Coast down to Sanibel, arriving on 20 March.

We are pleased to announce that Swallow-tailed Kites are nesting once again on Sanibel despite the effects of Hurricane Ian.  We hope both our tagged birds will be able to have successful nests too.

We are fortunate to be able to track and monitor these beautiful Swallow-tailed Kites, and we are glad to be able to share their migration stories with you. Thanks to CTT for the technology that brings us these insights on the lives of Swallow-tailed Kites. 

Background on the Sanibel Swallow-tailed Kites:

In recent years, the interest in locating and monitoring nesting Swallow-tailed Kites from the City of Sanibel, the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF), and the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, coordinated with ARCI for guidance on the use of Australian Pines for nesting. This has been a community-wide project with many local observations of kites and nest monitoring by dedicated volunteers across the Island. All professionals and volunteers who monitor the kites on Sanibel follow ethical viewing guidelines to ensure the safety and protection of the birds (minimize disturbance) and property owners (respect property rights).

As interest grew and the season progressed, a generous donation from a private donor enabled us to tag two adult Swallow-tailed Kites so we could expand our current knowledge of Swallow-tailed Kites on Sanibel and beyond.

In order to safely and successfully capture a Swallow-tailed Kite and fit it with a transmitter, we carefully use a trained, captive owl to lure kites into a large net.  We were delighted to work with a local Sanibel conservation ambassador, “Mina” the Great Horned Owl (used for public education), and her caretaker, Breanna Frankel of C.R.O.W. (Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife, Inc.).

Take action to help us help Swallow-tailed Kites:

If you are seeing Swallow-tailed Kite nesting activity, we would love to know about it.  You can report your sightings here,  or even help monitor the nesting activity with our Eyes on Kites program.

Thanks to our collaborators and sponsors and all of you for your interest and support.