Flying Escargot

And we meet again so soon! Probably seems like a whirlwind of activity as of late, especially since my long absence during the haunted trail prep. There has been extra free time around Intrigued while I try my best to rest up for the race this weekend. Unfortunately, that also means I’ll be stepping away from the websites to focus on that race. Suspect the need for some level of recovery regardless of whether I manage to make it through still vertical or those “Root of all Evil” tree appendages manage a retaliation from all the shade I’ve been throwing their way since the last time they bested me (link here). I’ll be at the exact “scene of the crime” again, and again, and again, and again, and again and fingers crossed again if things go as planned. While Brad and Jan are exploring faraway places, thought I would leave you with a special treat from our 2023 pass through upper Florida.

Hit the jump to learn more about this unexpected surprise while exploring around the Gainesville area.

Before I forget, wanted to send our prayers and encouragement to those affected by the recent hurricanes that have ripped through the Southeast. We can only imagine the difficulties during the aftermath of one event, but to have another one rip(ping) through so soon afterwards must be an incredible hardship. Stay strong, be unwavering and maintain hope in the decency of humanity.

In addition to the human toll, I also wonder about the impact on wildlife in these angry weather events. There are some ecosystems that cater to very localized/specific/rare inhabitants often due to the uniqueness in the habitat or preservation processes put in place at said location. As an example, every time there is a hurricane heading towards the Texas Gulf Shore during the breeding season I get very concerned about the threatened population of Whooping Cranes that come down there from Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada (link here). Granted their wings give them an added means to escape, but I do not fully understand their capabilities to forecast the weather, much less instinctual enough to act upon it. A direct hit on them could seriously decline an already fragile population.

Another example is in relation to today’s Featured Feathered Friend.

Although overall populations of the Snail Kite are far healthier than the Whooping Crane, the US centric population is listed as endangered. The largest population of Snail Kites reside in Central and South America including the Caribbean Islands. From a US perspective they are only found in Florida, more specifically inland on the peninsula. They are non-migrating, so where they tend to nest up is where they tend to hang out year round. What movement they do show is typically based solely on availability of their preferred food – Apple Snails.

The Snail Kite is purposely designed (and/or adapted depending on your camp) to thrive off of the Snail delicacy. Prior to this particular trip to Gainesville, Linda and I had zero knowledge of what an Apple Snail was. Besides the well-known escargot jokes in pop culture (ex. The Jerk link here), the shelled creatures were just something we saw on visits to the Aquarium. We also had to reset our previous size expectations – these Apple Snails are HUGE!

Did some digging after this experience and learned that Apple Snails are a large family designated as Ampullariidae and represent freshwater inhabitants. They possess both lungs and gills making them adaptable in and out of water, but guessing their survival rate is significantly higher in the latter. These Snails were established in South America and have been steadily invading northward with some of that progression aided by home aquarium dumping.

Florida has their own species of Apple Snail simply referred to as the Florida Apple Snail. This is considered the largest gastropod native to North America. They are on the smaller end of the size scale coming in at around 2.5 inches in diameter versus the largest in the family like the Island Apple Snail that can range up to around 6 inches. We learned from other birders while we were there that the Island variety are now invading the area and displacing the Florida variety. One would immediately jump to thinking that was a good thing as larger food options would sustain larger Kite populations. That would be true until you learn that these larger invaders can carry toxins.

With that stated, I’ve read a number of articles trying to get myself a bit more educated for this post and the best I can tell is there seems to be mixed feelings about the impact of the Island variety. A few articles mentioned these downsides along with the negative impact the Island variety has on agriculture, but several Snail Kite specific articles pointed out how the larger Islands have spurred on the Florida populations. See here and here as examples. They are consistent on the fact this larger food source has caused a physical change on the Snail Kites as they have adapted to larger bills and stronger talons in order to aid in consumption.

Before leaving the Snail topic, I’ll note there is another new variety that is targeting Florida – the Spiked Topped. They are also referred to as the Mystery Snail and I could find little info on them beyond the factoid they can regenerate an eye if they lose one which sounds very handy.

Okay, now let’s talk about this specific pocket of Snail Kites. In past posts I have alluded to a “special” resident of Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park that sits just outside of Gainesville in an area called Micanopy. The images here are indeed those Snail Kites. We found them.. or more accurately, Linda discovered them while I was out exploring Sweetwater Wetlands Park. She was stuck in the car with the boys thanks to a no pets policy which we soon found out meant Gator infestation. Paynes was less than 10 minutes away and when she started listing the species from eBird, I immediately said “You had me at Snail Kite”.

To be perfectly honest, I try my best to dampen expectations when it comes to new bird sightings. It is one thing to read about a sighting, it is an entirely different level when you are at a new location and have little knowledge of the target – then to get it in the tin..frustrations abound. The Snail Kite was a pleasant surprise. After admiring the Limpkin chicks (link here) near the boardwalk entrance, I turned to start exploring the rest of the park when I spotted a Hawklike body sitting on a tree maybe 75-100 feet out across the marsh. Grabbed a few shots before it took off towards the larger body of water. A quick chimp at the back of the camera seemed to show an exaggerated hooked bill and talons wrapped around some goopy entrails – kind of what I imagined was inside those spiraled shells. An individual with binoculars around his neck was walking by, so took the opportunity to ask if that happened to be a Snail Kite. Not sure if I was more surprised at the positive response or the fact it came out in a heavy New Zealand accent.

15 minutes into the exploration and I had my target lifer – life is good! Turns out there were several specimens at this particular area. Counted at least 6 during that visit and when I came back the next day with Linda sans the pups, there was at least 8 hunting the open waters. For the next 2 hours I stood near their observation deck and tried my best to get shots as the various Kites came in, hovered for a brief second, dropped to the water and carried off a plump Snail. This post has some of the more successful clicks, the digital darkroom wastebasket is heaping full of failures.

I learned a lot about the behavior of these birds in the relatively short time I was trying to get them in the tin. One aspect is they are fairly successful in their hunting runs. Figured it was close to a 90% positive rate during those 2 hours – fly in, hover, pluck, take off to a branch some distance away and then repeat once the juicy morsels were consumed. The other item of note was the absolute lack of aggression after a Kite grabbed a Snail. Quite the shock after spending years watching Gulls, Eagles, Terns etc. mob each other after one grabbed a fish. Likely says more about the abundance of Snails than it does about the lack of aggression within the residents.

It is unclear to me exactly what the current US population is for the Snail Kite. After reading several articles and seeing widely different numbers I was left scratching my head. Some facts that were available. The Snail Kites really made their arrival in this area after Hurricane Irma in 2017. In this case the Hurricane brought them here versus driving them out. This is due to a result of the immense flooding that triggered the expansion of the Snails. One article says the population peaked at 151 birds in April 2020 only to collapse back to a mere 5 in May the following year (link here). The Florida State Parks website filled in 2018 at 29 and 2019 at 104 (link here). Lastly, a Prairie Friends website indicated that a bird count netted only 6 in January of 2024 (link here) with 100 noted in the past (no date given). Also of note was a decline in their Limpkin population from a 100 down to 38 – both these birds live on the Apple Snail diet.

Cornell states their Florida population is 1,000, down from a high of 3,000 in 1999. On reflection, I think the discrepancy is between all of Florida and maybe this particular location. I cannot say for sure, so take these numbers more of an indication of how limited their population is within the US rather than a exact number.

Lastly, I’ll leave you with a picture I snapped of a Snail likely completely oblivious to the danger it was in.

Before you ask, I have no idea what type of Apple Snail it is – all I can say is

“Look away, just look away, keep your eyes that way. You would think at a fancy [park] like this at these [entrance fees] you would be able to keep the Snails [out of the water]. There are so many Snails you can’t even see the [Limpkin chicks]. Now take them away and bring me some of those melted cheese sandwich appetizers you talked me out of. Two boobs, that’s what [they] takes us for.”

Take care everyone while I hit pause to focus on the weekend and beyond. Fear not as I already have new adventures from Brad to bring you during the break.