SWALLOWED-TAILED KITE SIGHTINGS

Please Report Swallow-tailed Kite Sightings

Photo Courtesy of Rufus C. Harris, Jr.

Tulane biologist, Jennifer Coulson, and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) request reports of sightings of this rare bird. Of particular interest are:

1. any sightings of a kite on LDWF managed lands,
2. areas where kites are often seen,
3. sightings of more than one kite,
4. sightings were kite(s) vocalized (giving kee-kee-kee, or klee-klee-klee calls),
5. kites carrying nest material or food,
6. nests or roosts, and
7. any kites found injured, ill, or dead.

Please report the following information about each sighting (if known):

1. Date of sighting
2. Time of day
3. Number observed
4. Location [please be specific and include the Parish or County, nearest town and approximate distance to it, nearest road (including street address if applicable) or road junctions, nearest river or creek]
5. What birds were observed doing (e.g., one perched in a cottonwood while another circled overhead)
6. Observer's name and contact information (phone number with area code and e-mail address)

To Report a Sighting:
E-mail Jennifer Coulson: Jacoulson@aol.com
Or write to her:
Jennifer Coulson
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Tulane University
310 Dinwiddie Hall
New Orleans, LA 70118
Or call Stephen Sorensen, LDWF: (225)765-2374

Jennifer Coulson is studying the population ecology of the Swallow-tailed Kite. She is trying to determine: the geographic range of this species within Louisiana and Mississippi, the current population size, and factors that may limit the current population size. Aspects of her study include nest monitoring, a radio-telemetry based survivorship study, characterization of nesting and roosting habitat, and aerial surveys of premigration roosts.