Life Birds of Everglades National Park (Florida)

Before our trip to Florida, we went to the library to borrow books and Field Guides. There were 2 life birds that I really, really wanted to see. The Magnificent Frigatebird and the Snail Kite.

I had seen many pictures of the Magnificent Frigatebird and couldn't wait to see it in real life! The male has this strange red throat pouch that can be inflated like a balloon when it is breeding. I read that its wingspan is 200cm and longer than its body! It can fly for days and days before landing.

...so I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it!!! I was so excited!

                                                          Male Magnificent Frigatebird

                                                        Female Magnificent Frigatebird

                                                    Immature Magnificent Frigatebird

The other bird I really wanted to see was the Snail Kite. It is a raptor that feeds only on apple snails. It has a very deeply hooked beak, so as to dig into the snails to feed. It was already the last day of our trip and we still had not seen any Snail Kites. We decided to stop our car behind a large field and eat lunch before moving off. We were munching on our sandwiches and looking out into the field when suddenly, a large black raptor with an orange bill swooped down into the field. We couldn't believe our eyes! The snail kite!!! Dad took out his spotting scope and we all had a good look. We actually saw it feeding on the snails.

Snail kite

This is truly one of my favourite birding trips! Besides Yellowstone NP, of course!