Snail Kite, #33/50

Florida's wild places are home to an incredible diversity of birds.  More than 70 natural community types support this diversity from the pine flatwoods, to the scrub communities, to the vast sawgrass marshes and mangroves swamps. Our natural areas harbor many bird species seen nowhere else in the United States: including the Florida ScrubJay, Mangrove Cuckoo and Snail Kite.  (In addition, Florida's birdlife is every changing with the cycle of the seasons, a constant turnover of breeding, wintering and migratory species)

I found this (female) Snail Kite @ Wellington Environmental Preserve (Flying Cow Road) early one chilly overcast  Sunday morning. This image is cropped, as the bird never came close to the boardwalk.  Here he was on a perch on a little island and I was able to walk to an edge to get this, and yet not scare him off.  The Wellington Preserve also had a large amount of Limpkin feasting on all the apple snails in this area.

I am excited to be moving into the Raptor Section of this project, up coming images will include, a juvenile Eagle, a red shouldered and coopers hawk~

Interesting facts:

Distinctively shaped raptor of the wetlands.  Males are slate-gray with red legs, Females are dark brown and have a white eyebrow. Juveniles are similar to females, but have white-streaked underparts. Feeds upon large aquatic snails. It perches to feed, patiently waiting for the snail to emerge from its shell. Ranges from southern Florida throughout South America.