Empty nests are warm again

We are relieved that all seven of our GPS/satellite-tracked Swallow-tailed Kites made it back to the U.S safely from their winter destinations in South America. As we have learned from previous years’ tracking, crossing the Gulf of Mexico can be a deadly endeavor for Swallow-tailed Kites.

Locations of seven GPS/satellite-tracked Swallow-tailed Kites on 24 April 2015

The concentrations of GPS locations suggest that all seven tagged Swallow-tailed Kites are nesting. Day is using the exact same nest tree as last year, which often happens. All the other kites are very close to where they nested in 2014.

The South Carolina pair, Palmetto and Bluff, are together again. At this point, all the nests of tagged kites would be in the incubation or early nestling stage. Our tracking maps will continue to look about the same through mid-July. The males will be foraging as close as possible to their nests, while the females will finish incubating, tend to their small young, and remain nearby as the nestlings grow and learn to fly in the nest area.

Nestling Swallow-tailed Kites in a typical nest made of 
cypress twigs and epiphytes. (2011)

Typically, nests are constructed at the tops of emergent pines (also maples, cypress and oaks) from cypress twigs and epiphytes like spanish moss and old man's beard. Although typically placed nests suffer exposure to wind and avian predators, they probably enjoy several advantages relative to lower nests: easier access (probably most important factor), more support from closely spaced limbs, less chance of damage from fire, and fewer mosquitoes. Broken and wind-thrown nests are a common cause of nesting failure. Nest material is added throughout the incubation and nestling stages to maintain or restore structure and perhaps to cover excrement. Consequently, nests become filled in and are flat or convex on top by the time of fledging (Meyer and Callopy 1990).

Your business can support Swallow-tailed Kite conservation by becoming a sponsor of the Swallow-tailed Kite migration blog. Thanks to Subaru of Gainesville for being our first sponsor!  

The Gulf washes into memory for seven triumphant Kites

Good news since our last blog entry, all of the Swallow-tailed Kites have conquered the most dangerous leg of their northbound journey – the crossing of the Gulf of Mexico.  All but one have made it back to their summer home ranges. 

Tracks and locations for seven GPS/satellite-tagged Swallow-tailed Kites on northbound migration from 11 Mar - 31 Mar 2015

PearlMS is rounding the Gulf along the coast of Mexico to get back to his Mississippi home on the Pearl River. His route was very similar to the other seven kites coming across the Andes Mountains in Colombia and winding through Central America until he reached Nicaragua. Here he took a more inland route on a trajectory that would take him to the south rim of the Gulf of Mexico in the state of Tabasco. For the last 4 days he’s progressed northward through Mexico within sight of the Gulf Coast.

Once she made landfall in western Louisiana after 68 hours over water, Gulf Hammock took a week to return to her former Levy, County Florida nesting area. She’s focusing on a small spot where we hope she’ll settle down and nest.

Day and MIA have returned to their 2014 nest sites. Both have been observed on the previously-used nest structures.

Pace was the next kite to cross the Gulf of Mexico and it was a similar feat to that of Gulf Hammock a week prior. He left on good tail winds from the Yucatan, only to fight a headwind once 250 miles north. He made a 200-mile loop to the southeast over a 26-hour period, and then was able to ride winds to the north northwest and make landfall near Morgan City, Louisiana. He arrived on US soil on 20 March after 76 hours over water. He has already returned to the Jacksonville area where he nested in previous years.

Palmetto and Bluff also have returned to their summer ranges, and only 2 days apart. Palmetto and Bluff are the first-ever tagged, breeding pair of Swallow-tailed Kites. Palmetto, the female, made it back first, and her route across the Gulf of Mexico was quick and safe. She rested on the northern tip of the Yucatan on 20 March and set out across the water the next day. Thirty-four hours later she was resting on the Wacissa River in the Florida Panhandle. After three days, she was back on the New River of South Carolina in familiar territory. Her mate, Bluff was on a fast track and caught a lucky break between cold fronts pushing down from the north. Beginning 22 March he took a long shortcut from Honduras to northern Quintana Roo, Mexico where it appears he did not stop to rest before continuing across the Gulf to Florida. His path north was quite direct all the way to Naples, Florida where he arrived on 24 March. It took him 4 days to traverse Florida and Georgia to make his way home. The night of 28 March, Palmetto and Bluff were roosting within 100 meters of each other and their data suggest that they were together the next day as well.

Thank you to our first sponsor of the Swallow-tailed Kite Migration blog, 
Subaru of Gainesville!