Snail Kite heaven: Lake Kissimmee, Florida [View all]

[cpwm17]

Last edited Fri Nov 22, 2013, 02:57 PM - Edit history (1)

For those that want to see and photograph Snail Kites, as far as I know, the best place to visit is Lake Kissimmee in central Florida.

Lake Kissimmee and Joe Overstreet Rd that leads to the east shore of the lake is a popular birding area. A major prize of the area is the Snail Kite which breeds around the lake. Often you can see the Snail Kites from the shore by the end of Joe Overstreet Rd. I took the last four Snail Kite pictures there this summer of one that was hanging around the dock at that time. Usually you're not that lucky.

To get better looks, take the airboat ride from the company that operates at the end of Joe Overstreet Rd and ask them to take you to see the Snail Kites. You can get really close to the kites from the boat:

coordinates: N27.93716, W81.22577

https://plus.google.com/105463564447692038513/about?gl=us&hl=en

At least right now, there are a lot of Snail Kites on the lake. There is a huge population of snails in the lake so the kites should be reliable for a while. The kites do move around central and southern Florida, but the airboat operator told me that Lake Kissimmee currently has the largest population.

The first three Snail Kite pictures I took from the airboat on November 17, and the last four I took this summer of a kite that was hunting around the dock. The Bald Eagle and the other snail hunting specialists, the Limpkin, I took on November 17 from the lakeshore by the dock:

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