I was among a group of folks who met recently at a local marina at sunrise. An invitation from DeLand resident Jim Durocher brought together 10 eager passengers from Brevard, Lake and Volusia counties. 

Soon after greetings, we took our places on a pontoon boat, with binoculars, cameras and sunscreen in hand. These people share a love of nature, an avid interest in birds, and various levels of environmental activism. In this respect, we were birds of a feather. 

Chatter included mentions of ivory-billed woodpeckers, carrier pigeons, and other birds that are extinct in the United States. Over the drone of the outboard motor, the conversation revealed anticipation about the number of swallow-tailed kites we might see. 

There was also some reminiscing about past excursions. One story was about former County Council Member Clay Henderson and his wife, Karen, both environmentalists. They were kayaking, and were startled by an alligator breaking the surface of the water nearby; the story drew a few good laughs. 

“I think Clay screamed loudest,” someone recalled. 

The swallow-tailed kites were the main attraction. These adult raptors are 20-25 inches long, with a wingspan of 48 inches, according to the website www.allaboutbirds.org. The bird’s aerial skills, combined with its elegant black-and-white pattern, are remarkable. 

Gasps of delight came from some on the boat when (two or three times) a kite would descend in a low arch to the water’s surface, flying in for a drink. The birds twist their forked tail feathers to maneuver.

The kites are migrating to the south, and this is the time of year to see them in Florida. Some are stopping at Orlando Wetlands Park. Also, Fisheating Creek (west of Lake Okeechobee) is renowned for gatherings numbering in as many as thousands. 

Our kite-watching location not too far from DeLand is a secret among members of this group of bird-watchers, in hope of sparing the kites overexposure during their time here. It’s along a St. Johns River backwater. 

We approached the creek, and a loud splash from the buttonbushes on the left bank draws everyone’s attention. 

“That’s a large gator,” someone exclaimed. “See the bubble trail,” another said, as the submerged reptile crossed just beyond the bow. 

Nearing a bend, we saw the first sign of our objective: A faintly visible puffy white line along the tops of a stand of cypress trees. We edged closer, and, checking through binoculars, were able to see the individual birds. 

We anchored a couple hundred feet from the trees where hundreds of kites were roosting, and began to study them. That puffy white line consisted of perhaps 300 or 400 swallow-tailed kites, the common name for the species more formally known as Elanoides forficatus. 

“What do they eat?” I asked. “Lizards, snakes and smaller birds,” came the answer. “And dragonflies, lots of dragonflies.” 

The consensus among this bird-savvy group was that, yes, these kites eat on the fly. After half an hour or so, the birds are stirring from their apparent slumber, some stretching their wings like anhingas, collecting the warming sunlight. 

Another 30 or 40 minutes passed, and flapping wings lifted several kites above the treetops. A small group of them glided in circles, elevating on the updrafts generated by the heated air beneath. The birders refer to this as a “kettle.”

I had refocused my attention on the peanut-butter-and-cheese sandwich I had brought as a snack, when the other nine passengers said in unison, “Wow!” Perhaps 50 or 100 of the birds had launched simultaneously. This was certainly one of the highlights of the excursion. 

These are, indeed, snowbirds. Not just because they look a lot like snow on 70-foot-high boughs, but because they’re heading south for the summer. From Florida, the kites migrate to Cuba, the Yucatán and Central and South America. Some go as far as Brazil, according to www.allaboutbirds.org. 

Central Florida ornithologists, avid and casual birders, and nature-loving snowbirds of the human variety, can all be grateful that the opportunity remains to experience this beautiful phenomenon of the Florida wilderness. 

According to one participant on this tour, Jane Goddard, bonus birds identified by the group included red-bellied woodpeckers, a great blue heron, black vultures, several egrets, prothonotary warblers, cardinals, wrens, and pileated woodpeckers.

It was a good day.