Florida is a birder's paradise and if you think that holds true only for the coastline, you would be wrong. After the chance to capture the amazing Ospreys, which I posted about last week, I had the opportunity to capture yet another amazing raptor species - the Snail Kites, this time in Central Florida, which is where they are found mostly in the US and are also considered Federally Endangered.
The Snail Kites are found at large freshwater lakes and marshes. They are very conspicuous birds especially when they start hunting.
It is believed that they evolved to feed almost entirely on Apple Snails. During hunting, they fly low around bodies of water or perch in the open near the water bodies. They drop down to catch snails up to 6 inches deep in the water.
They are known to coexist with the Limpkins who also feed on the Apple snails.
As I watched these raptors hunt for the Apple Snails all morning, it is hard to ignore their strongly curved bill that fits inside the snail shells to pull out the juicy prey inside. They often tend to start eating while returning to their perch. The one on the left below is a female while the male is on the right.
While it is exciting to capture them flying, since they do perch during their hunt, I had the opportunity to get a few shots of them up close as well. The one on the left below was guarding the waters around the shrubs where she was perched against other Snail Kites while the one on the right is about to devour a snail.
Unlike some of the other raptors, the Snail Kites fly slower with their head typically tilted down to look for snails while still in flight.
One sad fact I learned about these amazing raptors is that they are vulnerable to the threats caused by the loss and degradation of wetlands in Central and South Florida. But let us hope there are efforts to sustain these beauties.
I would love to hear your feedback and comments as I prepare to post about yet another bird species I have had to cover in my trips to Florida.
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