While most of our 12 GPS-tracked Swallow-tailed Kites have
made it safely to Central and South America by now, two of our feathered friends are
still working their way southward through their U.S. breeding range. Here is
where our 12 tracked birds are today (see previous post for a recap on where the kites were tagged).
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| GPS locations on 29 August 2018 of 12 southbound Swallow-tailed Kites tracked by the Avian Research and Conservation Institute |
Both Wilson and Pritchard had been lingering near their
nests in southeastern South Carolina, foraging mainly on the Savannah National
Wildlife Refuge. On 23 August, Pritchard started south and quickly
reach South Florida; although, this bird may already be over the Gulf as you
read this note. Wilson left South Carolina just a few days ago, on 27 August.
Hobolochitto Creek
has flown through Texas to Mexico and just passed through the famous Veracruz
“River of Raptors” migration corridor.
Palmetto is
nearing the Nicaraguan border.
JAX is following the Caribbean coast of Costa
Rica southward.
Okaloacoochee’s (OK)
last fix was in Panama, but OK
is most likely deep into the Amazon and beyond sufficient cell coverage to
upload the most recent location data. We are anxiously awaiting
this kite’s next data upload.
Sarasota, Sawgrass, and Apopka are also in Panama. We expect to lose their signals for a while
as they cross through very remote areas of the Andes Mountains and Amazon Basin.
We see that Babcock
has made it safely through the Andes in southwestern Colombia. She must have taken a route close to cell towers.
Bayou Vincent and
Lacombe (both with satellite
transmitters, which don’t need a cellular network to communicate) took very
different routes across the Gulf of Mexico but have been 15 to 50 miles apart
since passing through Nicaragua. They now are near the border of Colombia and Peru.
Check back with us
over the next few weeks as we continue to update you on the migration of Swallow-tailed
Kites to their South American wintering destinations.
