WhenToBird

Elanoides forficatus · Accipitridae

When Do Swallow-tailed Kites Arrive in Florida?

Adult Swallow-tailed Kite
Photo: Taylor DiTarando, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Swallow-tailed Kites reach Florida in mid February, are common by early March, peak in mid May (10% of checklists), and most are gone by late July.

When to look

First arrivalsFeb 15-21mid February
Common byMar 1-7early March
PeakMay 15-21mid May
Most gone byJul 22-31late July

Best: mid May. First arrivals mid February; most are gone by late July. Peak: on about 10% of Florida checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seprare
  10. Octnot usually seen
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

Darker months: more checklists report it. Outlined: peak month.

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 0% of 74446 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 60074 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 62945 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 84954 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 59204 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 63259 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.8% of 77150 checklistsFeb 22-28: 3.4% of 62850 checklistsMar 1-7: 7.0% of 58560 checklistsMar 8-14: 9.1% of 57756 checklistsMar 15-21: 9.8% of 54898 checklistsMar 22-31: 9.7% of 76702 checklistsApr 1-7: 9.6% of 55096 checklistsApr 8-14: 9.5% of 55892 checklistsApr 15-21: 9.1% of 59358 checklistsApr 22-30: 9.7% of 73124 checklistsMay 1-7: 9.6% of 47915 checklistsMay 8-14: 9.8% of 44114 checklistsMay 15-21: 10% of 31858 checklistsMay 22-31: 10% of 40723 checklistsJun 1-7: 9.7% of 31668 checklistsJun 8-14: 9.4% of 27802 checklistsJun 15-21: 9.4% of 26698 checklistsJun 22-30: 8.8% of 32346 checklistsJul 1-7: 8.6% of 23826 checklistsJul 8-14: 7.8% of 23071 checklistsJul 15-21: 6.8% of 22903 checklistsJul 22-31: 5.9% of 32952 checklistsAug 1-7: 4.4% of 25093 checklistsAug 8-14: 2.7% of 24888 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.7% of 26030 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.8% of 38612 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.5% of 31023 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.3% of 30022 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.1% of 31611 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.1% of 42108 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.1% of 36219 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.1% of 43113 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 40987 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 53457 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 38587 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 39208 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 39729 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 54965 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 42070 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 43424 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 50581 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 82405 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Frequency is the share of complete checklists in Florida that listed the bird, 2016–2025. It is not a head count, and it follows where and when people go birding. How to read it.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
today
Second week of November

Each county is shaded by the share of complete checklists there that listed the bird, blended with the weeks either side. Darker is more often. It follows where people watch birds, not how many birds there are. How to read it.

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Where in Florida

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Gilchrist CountyBest late July · 54 checklists that week, 1,979 in all55%
  2. Levy CountyBest the second week of June · 202 checklists that week, 15,032 in all34%
  3. DeSoto CountyBest late April · 69 checklists that week, 2,154 in all30%
  4. Hardee CountyBest early June · 14 checklists that week, 1,078 in all30%
  5. Glades CountyBest the second week of July · 177 checklists that week, 6,182 in all28%
  6. Lafayette CountyBest mid July · 16 checklists that week, 1,203 in all28%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Old Miakka PreserveSarasota County, best the second week of March · 25 checklists that week, 209 in all81%
  2. Corkscrew Swamp SanctuaryCollier County, best mid May · 67 checklists that week, 7,357 in all81%
  3. Everglades National ParkMiami-Dade County, best late May · 49 checklists that week, 3,780 in all73%
  4. Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem WatershedCollier County, best early April · 66 checklists that week, 2,001 in all70%
  5. Lower Hillsborough Flood Detention AreaHillsborough County, best late April · 21 checklists that week, 420 in all69%

Busy spots report more of everything; compare the checklist counts before you drive anywhere.

Best time of day

In Florida, the Swallow-tailed Kite is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (4.4% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%12 am: too few checklists (771) to judge1 am: too few checklists (771) to judge2 am: too few checklists (701) to judge3 am: too few checklists (752) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1378) to judge5 am: too few checklists (9462) to judge6 am: 2.7% of 94591 checklists7 am: 3.4% of 296183 checklists8 am: 4.2% of 319987 checklists9 am: 4.3% of 254830 checklists10 am: 4.3% of 209480 checklists11 am: 4.0% of 163924 checklists12 pm: 3.8% of 133478 checklists1 pm: 3.6% of 125012 checklists2 pm: 3.6% of 125299 checklists3 pm: 3.5% of 131072 checklists4 pm: 3.6% of 134410 checklists5 pm: 4.2% of 113373 checklists6 pm: 4.5% of 69886 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (37509) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (8966) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2093) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1485) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (862) to judge12a3a6a9a12p3p6p9p
Share of checklists started in each local hour that reported it. It reflects when people go birding as well as when birds are active. Grey hours have too few checklists (under 2% of the state’s, or under 200) to judge.
Week-by-week table
MonthDays 1-78-1415-2122-end
January0%0%0.1%0.1%
February0.1%0.1%0.8%3.4%
March7.0%9.1%9.8%9.7%
April9.6%9.5%9.1%9.7%
May9.6%9.8%10%10%
June9.7%9.4%9.4%8.8%
July8.6%7.8%6.8%5.9%
August4.4%2.7%1.7%0.8%
September0.5%0.3%0.1%0.1%
October0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
November0.1%0.1%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Georgia: arrives late March, 5 weeks later than Florida
  • South Carolina: arrives late March, 5 weeks later than Florida
  • Alabama: arrives early March, 2 weeks later than Florida
  • Louisiana: arrives early March, 2 weeks later than Florida

Common questions

When do Swallow-tailed Kites arrive in Florida?
Swallow-tailed Kites reach Florida in mid February, are common by early March, peak in mid May (10% of checklists), and most are gone by late July.
When do Swallow-tailed Kites leave Florida?
Most Swallow-tailed Kites have left Florida by late July, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until mid August.
When is the best time to see a Swallow-tailed Kite in Florida?
The Swallow-tailed Kite is reported most often in mid May, on about 10% of Florida checklists.
Where in Florida are Swallow-tailed Kites seen most often?
By county, Gilchrist County, Levy County, and DeSoto County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Swallow-tailed Kite (counties with at least 200 checklists).