Swallow-tailed kite in Florida, March 2015 (photo by Chuck Tague)

12 August 2025

On Friday 8 August Michele Beresh reported a swallow-tailed kite (Elanoides forficatus) flying over Palmer Park, Donora, Pennsylvania at 2pm.

Seen flying at a distance. It looked shiny. Took photos and zoomed in on camera. No mistaking what it is. Tried to follow to get better photos but lost it while driving.

Her stunning report was accompanied by a photo, shown small below. Please see full size at this link: Macaulay Library asset 639995369.

On Saturday morning John Flannigan found it again and Ron Burkert took photos.

PA Lifer. First Washington County PA eBird record. Saw John F returning to car and found out he had just refound the bird. It appeared beyond centerfield then drifted N. Able to see and get overhead views from composting area just beyond pipe gate from parking lot. Medium-sized raptor white and black with DEEP V-shaped tail. Actively foraging, mostly over forest, just beyond Stan “The Man” Musial Field. Numerous photos, including some eating prey while flying.

I arrived at 2:15pm and watched from a park bench with a 180 degree view. I knew the bird would be hunting for dragonflies and I was hoping for a view like the one I saw in Florida in 2015, photo at top by Chuck Tague. Instead I saw:

Constantly flying. Distant! Fades in the haze until it wheels & shows its body shape. It took me an hour to notice it though it was probably there the whole time. Had a few good views through the scope.

Yesterday astute County Listers figured out they could stand in Gallatin Sunnyside Park in Allegheny County and see the bird flying over both counties. So now the swallow-tailed kite is recorded in Allegheny County, too. Yes it’s counted wherever the observer is standing.

Why is a swallow-tailed kite here?

Swallow-tailed kites breed in the southeastern U.S. but that’s the northern edge of their range. They leave North America in July and early August to join the year-round population in South America.

Range map of swallow-tailed kite from Wikimedia Commons

However, they are known to wander though they usually stay east of the Appalachians. Sometimes a kite will get as far north as Nova Scotia like the one that was seen there on 18 June 2025 — but they typically don’t visit our area and points west. This bird is quite unusual.

Swallow-tailed kite eBird reports, All Years, zoomed to northeastern US (screenshot)

Late July through early August is peak migration for swallow-tailed kites, especially through the Florida Keys where they sometimes see hundreds per day. Here are some recent reports from hawkcount.org:

2 Aug 2025: Bocas Valle de Agua, Panama, 383 swallow-tailed kites, 216 plumbeous kites
3 Aug 2025: Florida Keys Hawk Watch, 311 swallow-tailed kites
8 Aug 2025: Florida Keys Hawk Watch. 145 swallow-tailed kites
10 Aug 2025: Florida Keys Hawk Watch. Unfavorable winds but still saw 167 swallow-tailed kites

Soon this local bird will head south … but we don’t know when.

For more information:

• Migration, especially in Florida, at 10000birds.org
• What do swallow-tailed kites eat other than dragonflies? See Wikipedia, diet