Swallow-tailed Kites

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Happiness is standing in the shade of a tall cypress tree, standing thigh deep in swamp muck, wearing waders full of sweat and possibly tears, questioning your life decisions that put you in this position to begin with, only to scan the sky and be rewarded with a sighting of one. A swallow-tailed kite. STKI. Elanoides forficatus. It's all worth it then. . They're beautiful, stunning, surprising, quiet, make your heart skip a beat then have too many beats, exciting, powerful, graceful, magical, and just plain cool. . They breed in the southeastern US and utilize mainly large stands of wetland forests, which means swamps and bottomland hardwood forests. They're migratory, so they migrate from nesting grounds to wintering grounds between seasons. You can find STKI in South and Central America in the winter. I haven't yet but I will. . Everyone needs a spirit animal to appreciate and love and be guided by and this is mine. . #optoutside #outdoorconservation #wetlands #swampstuff #scienceiscool #wetlandsarelife #swampsarecool #swallowtailedkite #atchafalaya #birdsarecool #baldcypress . 📸 @flying_cypress 2017

A post shared by @ outdoorconservation on Sep 19, 2018 at 2:10pm PDT

It's not Swallow-tailed Kite viewing season in the United States anymore as the birds have all headed to more southern latitudes, but that doesn't mean I can't look forward to my first sightings in the spring.

 I've found a few resources to share about this magical beastie.

The Avian Research and Conservation Institute has trackers on a handful of STKI and they are blogging about it! Swallow-tailed Kite Migration

If you see a STKI, you can report your sighting! How cool is that? Report a sighting here!

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries also wants reports of STKI sightings in Louisiana. More information is available on their website.

Cornell University runs the ebird project and also has generated observations maps for STKI!

In my Google searching for more resources about STKI I found a facebook page! Now my facebook will be all full of STKI and that's fine with me. Check out Citizen Science for Swallow-tailed Kites! It's run by the Center for Birds of Prey.

The Orleans Audubon Society is one of the major partners involved in tracking Swallow-tailed Kites in Louisiana. Check out there page on the Swallow-tailed Kite Research and Conservation Project.

TIL there's a BOOK dedicated to Swallow-tailed Kites! Check out Tracking Desire: A Journey after Swallow-tailed Kites. BRB I must buy this right now.