The STKIs are coming, the STKIs are coming!!

Swallow-tailed Kites © The Center for Birds of Prey

Swallow-tailed Kites (STKI) are en route from their wintering grounds in South America! Research shows that most STKI cross the Gulf of Mexico and travel up through peninsular Florida, while a few follow the gulf coast through Mexico and Texas returning to their nesting territories in the southeastern United States.

They may already have arrived in your state or could be arriving any day now. We are counting on your help again in 2009! Here are a few tips to ensure another successful kite sighting season:

·Please continue to report each STKI sighting. It is very important that the data is consistent and multiple sightings in the same location can serve as an indicator for a nesting territory.

·For those of you who mailed or called in reports, we have a very  convenient website to log your reports. This online report form can be found at The Center for Birds of Prey. Log on and click on the Swallow-tailed Kite in the upper left hand corner.

·When reporting in 2009 please fill out all the reports as completely as possible with detailed location descriptions and complete latitude and longitude readings that can be found using the Google map tool on the report form.

·We welcome any photographs and video footage of kites. Your donation of original photographs and video footage can be used by the Swallow-tailed Kite Conservation Alliance in promoting and publicizing the database. Thanks to all who made contributions in 2008! You may send attachments to stki@avianconservationleague.org.

·South Carolina residents are welcome to join in Audubon’s annual Swallow-tailed Kite boat survey April 17-20, 2009. Please contact Ann Shahid (843.462.2150 or ashahid@audubon.org ) if you are interested.

Thank you all again for contributing to our database, we had a record number of reports in 2008 because of your help. As you may know, these magnificent birds are threatened throughout their range in North America.

All the information you collect is accessible for researchers, land managers, land conservation organizations, and state and federal natural resource agencies and is being used by the conservation community for research and land protection efforts. This spring and summer keep your eyes on the skies and report those beautiful visitors!

Sincerely,

Jennifer McCarthey,

Citizen Science for Swallow-tailed Kites Database Coordinator