Avian Research and Conservation Institute - www.arcinst.org

Bird Hugger podcast by Catherine Greenleaf interviews ARCI's Gina Kent on the Eyes on Kites Swallow-tailed Kite nest monitoring program. You can still register nests and nesting behavior with us:
https://www.arcinst.org/eyes-on-kites/

Have a listen to the latest podcast and keep your Eyes on Kites (especially you in Alabama and West Florida Panhandle!)
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/eyes-on-swallow-tailed-kites-program-with-gina-kent/id1517712079?i=1000768935825

"Eyes On Swallow-Tailed Kites" Program With Gina Kent Podcast Episode · BIRD HUGGER · May 21 · 20m

Welcome back Cinco-a female Swallow-tailed Kite that returned to her nesting grounds after an arduous migration! Cinco arrived on Cinco de Mayo!
Huge thanks to the support from Friends of the Florida Panther Refuge and Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge!

ARCI together with American Bird Conservancy and the Orleans Audubon Society are working to expand existing Swallow-tailed Kite research to Southern Alabama and the Panhandle of Florida. Together with funding from International Paper we will be tracking the movements of kites on working forests in these areas. You can help us by sharing your sightings and any knowledge of potential nesting sites:
https://www.arcinst.org/report-sightings/

Learn more about Swallow-tailed Kite nesting by joining our Eyes on Kites program:
https://www.arcinst.org/eyes-on-kites/
Thank you!

Great article by our partners at National Fish and Wildlife Foundation on the partnership we have with them and American Bird Conservancy, Orleans Audubon Society and International Paper researching Swallow-tailed Kites on working forests in the Southeast. This article highlights the role that kites play as indicators of forest health in sustainably managed forests.
https://www.nfwf.org/media-center/featured-stories/timber-talons-and-return-swallow-tailed-kite
Photo by M. Smith

ARCI is studying Swallow-tailed Kites in Palm Beach County, Florida through a partnership with the Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management and the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society. A recent highlight of this partnership is the creation of the film “Tracking Kites” produced by ERM and directed by Benji Studt. You can join us for a special screening at the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse on April 10th and/or 11th 2026 at the Wild and Scenic Film Festival. See here for information, tickets and the film trailer:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/974047898384942

For those on Florida's west coast, there will be a screening of "Tracking Kites" on 4:00 pm on 11 April 2026 at the Florida Birding and Nature Festival at Apollo Beach: https://www.floridabirdingandnaturefestival.org/schedule.html

See where these kite movie stars are now in our latest blog:
https://www.arcinst.org/2026/04/03/swallow-tailed-kites-of-palm-beach-county-florida-are-in-the-movies/

Photo of ARCI's Gina Kent holding "Cypress" a GPS-tagged Swallow-tailed Kite prior to release. PBCERM's Drew Cunningham takes a photo.

Help with Swallow-tailed Kite conservation by monitor nesting behavior with: Eyes on Kites : https://www.arcinst.org/eyes-on-kites/
With nest site information, we can determine the protective status, and potential threats and advise landowners on how best to protect them. We also can identify areas where productivity is particularly high or low and, over time, relate this to factors such as site fidelity, longevity, abandonment, predation and disturbance risks, and habitat integrity through long-term monitoring.
Swallow-tailed Kites are arriving back to Florida each day and now is the time to find nesting activity. We hope you will consider monitoring Swallow-tailed Kite nests with us. Your observations are helpful for our monitoring program. You are our eyes in the field! Thank you!
https://www.arcinst.org/2026/04/01/we-need-your-eyes-on-kites/

ARCI and Orleans Audubon Society are tracking Swallow-tailed Kites as they return to their breeding grounds. See the latest blog to find out where the aerial research team is today: https://www.arcinst.org/wp/wp-admin/post.php?post=18669&action=edit

Swallow-tailed Kites continue to return to the Southeast, but some are already nesting. Help us gain knowledge on nest success by joining the "Eyes on Kites" program to monitor nest behavior: https://www.arcinst.org/eyes-on-kites/

Reminder to join us April 10 at the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse for a special screening of "Tracking Kites" produced by Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management: https://www.facebook.com/reel/974047898384942

We thank the many organizations and funding sources that make these tracking studies possible:
West Volusia Audubon , Parkside Elementary, Palm Beach Zoo , National Fish and Wildlife Foundation , Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program , Friends of Florida Panther Refuge, Friends of Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge, Microwave Telemetry Inc., Ornitela, Merrit Island Wildlife Association, McDaniel Charitable Foundation, Lower Suwannee NWR, Lake Woodruff NWR, International Paper, Florida Panther NWR, Florida Ornithological Society, Cellular Tracking Technologies, Avian Reconditioning Center for Birds of Prey, American Bird Conservancy

Look how the students at Parkside Elementary in Collier County Florida are using the GPS-tracking data from “Suwannee Scout” a Swallow-tailed Kite ARCI tagged with support from the school, Florida Ornithological Society and Friends of the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges.

Surprise! We were gifted with location data from three GPS-tracked Swallow-tailed Kites that we had not "heard" from since August. These birds have trackers that connect to the cell network and although their trackers are not compatible with cell towers in South America, they store all the location data and have made it back to the U.S where they have uploaded their full migration! More Swallow-tailed Kites are on their way! See where the GPS-kites are today on our latest blog: https://www.arcinst.org/2026/03/16/gps-tracked-swallow-tailed-kites-arrive-to-breeding-grounds-more-to-return-this-month/

Grateful to our partners!

Orleans Audubon Society, American Bird Conservancy The Avian Reconditioning Center for Birds of Prey , Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program , Cellular Tracking Technologies , Florida Ornithological Society , Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge , Friends of the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges , Friends of the Florida Panther Refuge , International Paper , Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge , Merritt Island Wildlife Association , National Fish and Wildlife Foundation , Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management , Palm Beach Zoo , Elementary School, Sanibel-Captiva Audubon Society, , Volusia Audubon Society

Report Swallow-tailed Kite nesting activity here:
https://www.arcinst.org/eyes-on-kites/