March 1, 2025

Birds are beginning their migration North. It’s hard to believe that it’s already that time of the year again. The Black Skimmers at Mallory Square are mostly gone now, and I’m starting to see a lot of warblers around.

I saw my first Swallow-tailed Kite flying over Fort Zachary Taylor State Park on the afternoon of February 26th. This raptor winters in South America, and breeds in the southeastern United States in the summer. They begin showing up in Florida usually around the 3rd or 4th week of February. Right on time! A couple of weeks ago my friend Sally told me to keep an eye out for them. It pays to look up. I got lucky!

My camera captures about 20 frames per second, which really comes in handy when photographing rapidly moving flying birds. This Swallow-tailed Kite had  had nabbed a lizard, ate it while flying, and dropped what was left of the poor creature. We all have to eat, but nature can be harsh.