In the early part of their stay in Florida, you’ll see them circling high overhead inspecting the territory. Most STKIs return to the same nesting sites every year, often fixing up an old nest. They need tall trees (preferably pines, occasionally cypress and other tall trees) in open woodland where they can hunt abundant prey by sight, and they prefer to be near a source of water – a swamp, river, marsh or a slough – because they also capture and consume creatures living next to or in the water. There are two essentials for nesting, which they do in loose communities. On arrival they begin looking for suitable nesting sites. Photos by Dick Brewer, CREW Trust Volunteer Right: STKI finds an old nest to make new this March, 2022. Left: Treetop nest toward the end of last nesting season. We’re fortunate at CREW because they have a few favorite nesting areas within the CREW Project and between February and August we have the privilege of seeing them circle and soar over the treetops. but Florida is their preferred destination and we see them in the greatest numbers here. Some of them make it as far as seven of the southernmost states in the U.S. When we begin to spot STKIs in Florida in mid-February, they must be tired from their long journey because they’ve just flown in from South America, a journey of up to 6,000 miles. We have a lot of unanswered questions regarding these world travelers, but there is plenty that we do know! This article will be a refresher course covering some of the top questions we hear from you about our black and white aerial artists at the CREW Trails. Returning from South America in mid-February every year like a romantic poem written especially for a birder just in time for Valentine’s Day, they almost immediately start circling the tall tree tops in search of their favorite nesting spot. If you’ve hung around any tall pine trees lately, there’s a chance – even if you didn’t notice – that you’ve been within view of one of southwest Florida’s most social flying raptors, the swallow-tailed kite (STKI). Photo by Bill Zaino, CREW Trust Volunteer By Nan Mattingly and Allison Vincent STKI feeding on the wing.
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