Partnership to contribute to conservation studies
The Avian Research and Conservation Institute reported that it deployed GPS-equipped cell-phone transmitters on Sanibel on two breeding adult swallow-tailed kites, which have been named “Bailey’s Homestead” and “Sanibel Botanical.” It is waiting for the DNA results to determine the birds’ sex.
The city of Sanibel, Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation and J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge coordinated efforts with ARCI’s guidance on the use of Australian pines for nesting. It reported that it has been a community-wide project, with many local observations of kites and nest monitoring by volunteers across the island.
As interest grew and the season progressed, a private donation enabled ARCI to tag two adult kites so that it could expand its current knowledge of the species on Sanibel and beyond, officials reported.
In order to safely and successfully capture a kite and fit it with a transmitter, ARCI carefully uses a trained captive owl to lure kites into a large net. It reported that it was delighted to work with Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife Rehabilitation Manager Breanna Frankel and her charge, great horned owl and CROW Ambassador Mina.
If you believe kites are nesting in your neighborhood on Sanibel, report your sighting to the Sanibel Department of Natural Resources at 239-472-3700 or contact Veronica.Runge@mysanibel.com.