ECO ToURISM

with Chris Thalmann

Although I spend a lot of time on coastal waters, I also enjoy exploring our inland natural areas. Spring is a great time to do so, and South Florida has millions of acres of natural areas that are open to the public and waiting to be explored!

Many of these areas are connected by recreational trails. Some are multi-use...hiking, biking, off-road vehicles, horses etc...and can be pretty busy. Others are limited use and much quieter. From paved sidewalks to gravel, sand, grassed paths, even boardwalks, there’s a variety of trails for just about anyone who’s interested in getting outdoors and into nature.

One of my favorite inhabitants of inland natural areas this time of year are swallow-tailed kites. You’ll likely see these graceful birds zooming through cypress and pine forested wetlands, like you’ll find at Grassy Waters, Loxahatchee Slough and Winding Waters Natural Areas.

Swallow-tailed kites are good sized birds, with wingspans of about 4 feet, a distinctive bright- white head and chest, and gleaming black wings. They also have a very pronounced v-shaped tail, which allows them to make acrobatic moves unlike just about any other bird out there.

Masters of updrafts, these birds spend most of their days gliding through the air and rarely even need to flap their wings. Part of the raptor family, they’ll hunt and eat insects and small fish on the fly. For larger prey like frogs, snakes, even small mammals, they often take their catch to the tops of trees to feed.

Swallow-tailed kites are migratory. They winter in South America, then migrate north in the spring to the US to nest and raise their young, then head south again in late summer. They were once very common throughout much of the eastern US, even as far north as Minnesota. Unfortunately, plumage hunting and habitat losses from logging and development over many decades reduced their North American range to the southern US.

But things may be on the upswing for these graceful flyers. Sightings suggest they may be slowly re-establishing their historic ranges. Several projects are underway to help determine where these birds are spotted and how often.

If you’d like to help, you can report sightings at https://stki. thecenterforbirdsofprey.org. It takes only a minute, and each sighting provides insight into how these beautiful birds are doing here in South Florida (and elsewhere!).

To learn more about these unique seasonal visitors, visit https://www. arcinst.org/blog/. There you can follow several swallow-tailed kites who have been fitted with mini transmitters as they complete their annual 10,000-mile migrations.

Based on past years they’ll likely be here in South Florida until August/ September, so keep an eye out for them if you find yourself exploring our inland natural areas.

Here’s to enjoying some time outdoors this month!