Habitat loss and widespread drainage, which has permanently lowered the water table in the Everglades, continue to threaten the endangered
| snail kite. |
By Jenell Talley
|
A snail kite isn't conventionally pretty. Its broad wings don't complement its slender body, and the birds fly less gracefully than other birds of prey. But the species is considered one of the most interesting birds in the Florida Everglades. It's also one of the most threatened.
| Snail kites are medium-sized hawks. They usually weigh about 12 to 20 ounces and are about 15 inches long. Their wingspan is approximately 36 to 43 inches. Males are slate gray with specks of brown on their upper wings and orange legs. Females are brown with white streaks on their face, chest, and throat and have yellowish legs. Both sexes have red eyes, squarely tipped, dark-colored tails with a white base, and a slender, curved, hooked bill. | |
This sign in Everglades National Park is just one indication of the threats facing snail kites in southern Florida. |
The birds typically mate from February to June, but it isn't uncommon for them to mate year-round. Their courtship includes aerobatics and stick-carrying displays. Males perform short ascents and descents through the air while beating their wings. Afterward, females invite them to bring food and nest-building necessities.
Nests are constructed in colonies of loose, bulky material and span close to 13 inches. They're usually found about three to ten feet above water. Females lay two to four eggs each spring. Males and females work together to keep the eggs warm for the next 27 days. Males then help females to raise the newborn.
These raptors inhabit south and central Florida and Everglades National Park. They live in freshwater lakes, marshes, and sloughs known to house apple snails, their primary food source. The hawks swoop down, pull their prey from the water with one foot, and carry the snail away with their long, sharp talons. They try to avoid getting wet but sometimes are forced to place their bellies in the water to grab hold of the 1.5-inch-wide apple snails or small turtles, which they hunt when their favorite food becomes scarce. The birds hold the captured snail with one foot and use their bills to pry it from its shell.
The birds' specialized diet renders them habitat-specific. Consequently, the species' population plunges when its habitat is altered. Marsh draining, the infestation of water hyacinth, and pesticides, drought, and hunting by farmers who saw the birds as pests have contributed to their endangered status. "Early on they were shot," says Sonny Bass, a wildlife biologist at Everglades National Park, "but that's not the main reason they're endangered." Bass attributes the species' presence on the endangered list to a loss of habitat spurred by rapid development and urbanization and changing water-management practices.
Water conservation plays a huge role in the snail kites' preservation. The quality and quantity of water in the Everglades are vital to their well-being. Everglades National Park is trying to establish a natural water flow through marshes to maintain the birds' numbers. Legislation has authorized a long-term Everglades restoration strategy, and federal, state, and local entities are moving to restore natural water flows there despite many political obstacles and the conflicting demands of development, agriculture, and urban water supply interests. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's recovery plan includes using artificial nest structures to protect nest sites and controlling exotic plants.
Delisting the snail kite is highly unlikely, Bass says, but the birds have rebounded from astoundingly low numbers. A 1988 survey counted 500 kites, up 53 percent from the year before. Bass wouldn't suggest hoping for a full-fledged resurgence, but he says, "They could be downlisted to a threatened status. That's definitely a possibility."
JENELL TALLEY is publications coordinator.
