Enter the Everglade Snail Kite on the La Chua

Description:

Their story is certainly a unique one: Snail Kites were listed as endangered in 1967. As their habitat continued to dwindle, so did their range, and population.More recently, the arrival of the invasive Giant Apple Snail spread throughout Florida. Hurricane Irma scattered them all over the Paynes Prairie basin.So the kites followed the snails ...the population has subsequently skyrocketed in only a few years. Then this juvenile flew past and landed right in front of me to pause and devour some lunch. The rest is history.Snail KiteAKA Everglade Snail Kite AKA Florida Snail KiteRostrhamus sociabilisLa Chua TrailPaynes Prairie Preserve State ParkAlachua County, Florida, USAOlympus OM-D E-M5 Mark IIIOlympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 100-400mm F5.0-6.3 IS Lens 27 June 2021inaturalist: Species gridPhil's 1stPix on iNaturalist