Snail Kite

 

On our skiff nature excursion on Gatun Lake I was extremely happy to be able to photograph this Snail Kite. Surprisingly birds were very limited on the lake with Mangrove Swallows, Brown Pelicans, Ani, Southern Lapwing and Magnificent Frigatebirds the only other birds we observed. We had observed Snail Kites in action on our Florida birding trips but never this close.

The highly specialized Snail Kite flies on broad wings over tropical wetlands as it hunts large freshwater snails. These handsome gray-and-black raptors have a delicate, strongly curved bill that fits inside the snail shells to pull out the juicy prey inside. Unlike most other raptors, Snail Kites nest in colonies and roost communally, sometimes among other waterbirds such as herons and Anhingas. They are common in Central and South America but in the U.S. they occur only in Florida and are listed as Federally Endangered.

Both the Limpkin and the Snail Kite evolved to feed almost entirely on freshwater apple snails. These very different bird species coexist peacefully for the most part, largely segregated by their methods of hunting. Limpkins can hunt snails in dense reedbeds and other thick vegetation, wading in on their long legs and using their long bills to move floating vegetation to look for snails. Kites usually fly over open water and drop down to catch snails up to 6 inches deep in the water.