Avian Research and Conservation Institute (ARCI) along with Orleans Audubon Society (OAS) are tracking 18 Swallow-tailed Kites fitted with GPS-trackers on their Southeastern U.S breeding grounds.
Northbound migration is most treacherous during the lengthy over-water crossing of the Gulf of Mexico. Swallow-tailed Kites are eager to get to the breeding grounds and secure a nesting territory. Most will wait for the best tailwind from the Yucatan peninsula, however, increasing cold fronts can essentially present a wall that the wind-driven kites cannot combat. They can only last three days over water before they will die.
The exciting news is that four GPS-tracked Swallow-tailed Kites are about to, or perhaps have already, made the risky crossing of the Gulf of Mexico. Luckey Lox from Palm Beach County Florida and Sanibel Botanical from Lee County Florida look to be hours apart and were last recorded west of Cancun, Mexico on 3 March 2025. Since they did not upload data on March 4, there is a good chance they are overwater as we report.
Paurotis and Cinco, both from the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, are next up for the over-water crossing. Paurotis reported on 3 March 2025 from the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve in Quintana Roo, Mexico. Cinco is about a day behind in northern Belize.
Four additional GPS-tracked Swallow-tailed Kites are just about to cross the Colombian Andes; Snuffbox Canal from Georgia, Cypress from Palm Beach Co., Florida, Belle River from Louisiana, and Simmons Creek from South Carolina.
As you have seen in our previous blogs, most of these Kites are being tracked with the GSM-cellular network so when they are not near cell towers, they cannot upload their data. They only attempt to upload their data once a day to save battery volts on their solar-powered units (by CTT) and during these big stretches over mountains, rainforest and vast wilderness, they are far from a cellular connection. We hope that is the case with our missing birds and that once they reach a place with cell coverage, they will be able to connect and upload all their location data.
ARCI and OAS are tracking Swallow-tailed Kites not only to monitor the roosts, foraging areas, stopover sites, and winter destinations, but also to see how they use public and private lands and survive throughout the Southeastern States. We are grateful to our funders and project partners for making this research possible.
American Bird Conservancy (ABC),
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF),
Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society,
Palm Beach County’s Department of Environmental Resources Management (ERM),
Friends of the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge Complex,
Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge
Friends of Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge
McDaniel Charitable Foundation
Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program
CTT GSM-GPS transmitters
We had our first sighting this morning here at Saddle Creek Park in Lakeland, Fl. It was one
single Bird, flew around area for a few minutes then headed south.
Happy to see their return-miss them when they’re gone. Hopefully we see many this year.