I am definitely not an early bird, so waking up at 3:45 a.m. was a big deal. So was the point of my pre-dawn trip: a chance to photograph a flock of Swallow-tailed Kites.
Friend and photographer Tim Barker invited me on this trek with a hired guide who knew of a special location where dozens upon dozens of Swallow-tailed Kites roost while making Central Florida their summer home. I’d love to tell you exactly where we saw them, but I honestly don’t know where we ended up.
We arrived at a fish camp in Astor in Lake County, then took a pontoon boat south along the St. Johns River as the darkness turned into dawn. After about 45 minutes we turned down a creek or two, and there were at least 100 Swallow-tailed Kites resting in several trees.
It was still before sunrise, and most of the birds were still sleeping or resting. They looked like they had been through a rough night with wet wings and beat-up feathers. A storm had apparently come through the area.
The main point of our trip was to see the Swallow-tailed Kites wake up and then skim along the creek for morning drinks of water. But since the birds apparently had plenty of water from their overnight drenching, only a handful performed the highly anticipated skimming along the water – and only one did it in front of our boat so we could photograph it
Fortunately I got some pictures of that one skimming Kite, as well as pictures of the many, many birds who were hanging out nearby.
They were all gone by 9 a.m. The Kites started taking off from the trees and creating kettle formations, when they circle around and around seeking thermal updrafts to help lift them higher and higher – either to start their return flights home to South America or to continue to preparations for their upcoming long trip.
I had an amazing day, even with the very early wake-up call.
The water-skimming sequence
Other photos of the Swallow-tailed Kites
