The Swallow-tailed Kite is a hawk that only spends the summer with us, but its arrival from a winter home in the American tropics in late February or early March has long been heralded as a signal of the arrival of spring. It arrives in small numbers with piercing high-pitched notes and aerial acrobatics that captivate those who spot them. Courtship and nest-building quickly get underway. Nests are typically placed high in a tree near wetland areas, but foraging kites can sometimes be seen flying low over city streets. This is a species that suffered greatly from clearing of forests, draining of wetlands, pesticides, and other pollutants. Northern populations long ago disappeared. Florida breeding populations have suffered, but Swallow-tailed Kites still return each year – no doubt influenced by our climate and the vastness of the Everglades ecosystem.
Swallow-Tail Kites
