The Hurricane Swallow-tailed Kite: the sequel

It’s been a month since the now famous Suwannee 22 escaped a dangerous confrontation with Hurricane Debby by riding in the storm’s vortex until it made landfall on Florida’s Gulf. This female Swallow-tailed Kite, tagged in 2022 at the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge, wound up in a reverse migration after leaving the coast of South Florida for Cuba. Our previous blog’s story of her ride in the storm’s vortex was picked up by USA Today.

Fortunately, Suwannee 22 landed alive and well in Taylor County, Florida, on the morning of 5 August. She spent three days close to the coast before flying 180 miles north to the Altamaha River in Georgia, where she lingered for 2 days before continuing 60 miles northward to the Ogeechee River near Statesboro, Georgia. She spent the next 9 days in an agricultural area, likely recovering from her harrowing first attempt before reversing course to continue her southbound migration. On 20 August, after 3 nights in Florida, she once again set out across the Gulf of Mexico. Her route was typical of what we have seen through years of tracking kites to the Yucatan Peninsula. It was about a 40-hour flight, passing the Dry Tortugas National Park and the western tip of Cuba before reaching land in the Sian Ka’an International Biosphere Reserve in Quintana Roo, Mexico, in the early morning hours of 26 August. As of 7 September, Suwannee 22 was right on track and progressing southward through Costa Rica.

ARCI is tracking Swallow-tailed Kites not only to monitor their roosts, foraging areas, stopover sites, and winter destinations, but also to see how they use public and private lands throughout Florida and other Southeastern States.  We are grateful to our funders and project partners for making this research possible. The Friends of the Lower Suwannee and Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges have generously provided funding for the solar-powered GSM-GPS tracking devices needed to continue this distinctive conservation effort.