Swallow-tailed kite illustration by Rafael Galvez, the festival’s keynote speaker. Galvez will display a series of his drawings at the opening event, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, in Key Largo.

Wow. We witnessed the most amazing thing as we were leaving this week’s Florida Keys Birding and Wildlife Festival committee meeting — somewhere between 100 to 150 swallow-tailed kites cruising southwest along the shoreline of Curry Hammock State Park.

If you’ve never observed this species, you are missing out on a real avian marvel. They are magnificent creatures, with striking white and black coloration and an almost “furry” look to them. They are acrobatic fliers and can feed by snatching lizards or insects from trees while in flight. The ones we saw were just gliding along and we were lucky enough to have a few dozen drift by a few meters overhead then onwards to meet up with the rest of their group. They were out of sight in less than 5 minutes and we were left in awe of what we had just seen.

– Kristie Killam

Want a handy downloadable and printable list of birds you’re likely to see — and when you’re likely to see them — in the Florida Keys? This Florida Keys National Wildlife Refuges Bird List will come in especially handy while you’re out on the trail or on the water during our fall festival!

It’s a plane! It’s a kite! It’s the batman signal!

Magnificent frigatebird by Tom Wilmers.

Well, actually it is a Magnificent Frigatebird here in the Florida Keys. To catch sight of these birds one must rise early at dawn; that’s when it is the best time to see them in their natural habitat and the backdrop of Key’s sky behind the Frigatebird make their colors just pop! We went to observe a colony in the Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge.  It’s not every day one gets to go into backcountry in the Florida Keys either. It was as if I had a private VIP tour of the backcountry. The waves roaring and the wind gives you sea salt kisses as you’re riding out to the colony.  Once there my eyes are in awe, there were several frigatebirds hovering over their colony while the mangrove trees were filled by the dozens of them too. With a breeding season that can take two years from mating to the end of parental care, one of my interesting discoveries was seeing a chick. I could have literally stayed out there all day and just watched the interaction between all the birds.

How can you help the Magnificent Frigatebird? When boating please be mindful and use caution when passing nesting or roosting areas. The Frigatebirds can get very frantic and easily startled, if you see them circling in the skies, you may have gotten too close!

Ferrisa Connell, Student Conservation Association Intern, reporting on an experience with Florida Keys National Wildlife Refuge biologists, conducting a backcountry birding survey.

Organizers’ Note: You’ll be able to witness the magnificent frigatebird at this year’s event. Take one of our guided boating trips into the backcountry or to Dry Tortugas National Park to see this remarkable bird in an incredible setting. Of course, if all else fails, and you’re in the Keys, just look up!

The true sign of summer here in the Florida Keys is the return of the elusive white-crowned pigeon. 

Although thousands of them spend the summer in the Florida Keys to nest and raise their young, you’ll be hard-pressed to get a really good photo of one.  That’s because during the winter months they travel south to other islands in the Caribbean, and most of those islands allow hunting of these birds.  As a consequence, they are understandably skittish around people.

It’s the rare photographer who can capture this kind of image of the white-crowned pigeon, a species made skittish around humans because it’s hunted elsewhere in the Caribbean.

These birds feed on the berries of dozens of native hardwood hammock tree species including such favorites as the poisonwood, fig, blolly and pigeon plum trees.   This bird is listed as a threatened species in the state of Florida, with habitat destruction of foraging areas a primary concern. 

How can you help the white-crowned pigeon?  Give a Smidgen for the white-crowned pigeon by landscaping your yard with native trees that produce food for this spectacular bird.  If you don’t live in the Keys, you can help your local wildlife by planting the native trees, shrubs and flowers that wildlife species in your region depend upon.

 – Kristie Killam