Birds and Birding >
Florida's Imperiled Birds >
Birds and Birding
Florida's Imperiled Birds
Snail Kite  The
Snail Kite is a bird of prey with a very particular appetite:
it feeds almost exclusively on apple snails, a freshwater
mollusk that occurs in Central and South Florida wetlands
including the Everglades. The bird’s curved beak is
slightly off-center to allow it to easily extract the snail
from its spiraled shell. The sight of these hunters hovering
over the Everglades’ sawgrass is a mainstay of our Florida
heritage.
Today the Snail Kite is
in trouble: it is listed by both the State of Florida and
the federal government as an Endangered species. Much of its
habitat has been drained, other parts inundated to depths
that suit neither snails nor their namesake kites. Water quality
has declined and with it, Snail Kite populations have as well.
How Audubon is Helping
- Everglades
Restoration: the heart of Snail Kite habitat in Florida
is the Everglades. By restoring the river of grass, we will
ensure there will always be places for kites to feed, nest
and raise their young.
- Lake Okeechobee
Recovery: Once a critical refuge for Snail Kite nesting,
the health of Lake Okeechobee has declined so far that in
2005, kites did not nest successfully anywhere on the lake.
Lake Okeechobee is critical to Everglades health and it
is critical to the Snail Kite’s survival in its own
right.
- Florida Center
for Birds of Prey: True dedication is making a snail
milkshake and feeding it to an injured kite! At the Florida
Center for Birds of Prey, we know that every Snail Kite
is critical to the population of this endangered species.
We go to great lengths to rehabilitate injured Snail Kites
and return them to the wild, even feeding these picky eaters
their favorite molluscan milkshake!
|
