I love seeing Swallow-tailed Kites in the skies above Central Florida in the summer. On Saturday I spotted three circling in the sky near Lake Apopka, so I had to pull over on the side of the road and take some pictures.
These striking black-and-white raptors fly north (yes, north) to Florida in the spring and summer to breed before returning home to South America. To paraphrase an old Delta Airlines commercial, these birds love to fly and it shows.
They spend almost all of their time in the air. That includes traveling between North and South America but also catching prey and eating that prey while still flying.
That’s what I saw on Saturday. I noticed one was clutching something in one of its claws. After I got home and started editing the pictures, I saw the bird bring what appears to be some sort of insect up to its mouth and then eat it – all while still circling above. Talk about eating on the go!
