For many Swallow-tailed Kites, reaching the tip of the
Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico means they have entered the home stretch of their
northbound migration. One last 500-mile-plus push across the dazzling teal
waters of the Gulf of Mexico and they’re back over land, reaching their nesting
locations with plenty of juicy, nutritious food available along the way.
But the weather can make or break the trip. Northerly winds
pushing down the Gulf of Mexico make the risky, direct route home even more
challenging. Instead of riding southerly tailwinds, the kites must struggle
upwind. Some end up stalled over open ocean, exhausted.
Luckily, failure was not in the cards for Bogue Falaya,
Lacombe, Palmetto, and Sarasota. They all made it safely across the Gulf of
Mexico, albeit in unexpected ways.
Bogue Falaya was
the first of the four to start crossing the Gulf of Mexico, on 9 March. Strong
northerly winds forced him to double back and linger off Mexico’s coast until
the evening of 10 March, when he was finally able to resume northward travel.
At 4 am on 12 March, Bogue Falaya made landfall in the panhandle of Florida near
Carrabelle. He was still in the area as of 20 March.
The last two years, Lacombe
was able to fly almost due north from the Yucatan Peninsula to his nesting
grounds in Louisiana. But not this year. He left the Yucatan Peninsula on 11
March and was immediately pushed eastward, reaching land near Sarasota, Florida,
on 12 March. Ever since, he’s been working his way westward, over land, towards
Louisiana.
Palmetto waited
until the winds quieted to cross. Leaving on 15 March, she was able to fly due
north across the Gulf and reach Panama City, Florida, on 17 March. She cut east to the Florida Panhandle, then turned towards South Carolina just north of
Jacksonville, Florida. By 20 March, she had reached her nesting grounds. This seems
to be her favored flight path, as she took a very similar route in 2017. Who
could quibble with her methods? Since being tagged, Palmetto has survived
7 yearly round-trip migrations – that’s over 70,000 miles. What an amazing
feat.
Sarasota left the
Yucatan Peninsula on 17 March. Instead of flying the short, direct route back
to Sarasota County, Florida, Sarasota slowly drifted northeast for two days and
reached Steinhatchee, Florida, on the morning of 19 March. Returning to last
year’s nest site will be the next priority.
