Swallow tailed Kites in Texas have been prevalent this summer (2022) in and around my neighborhood. Exploration Green in the Clear Lake area of Houston has been especially busy. I have added some much better images below. A “gang” of up to 10 individuals is making regular morning visits to a “preening tree”. They come at dawn and stay for about 45 minutes. Once they have organized and rearranged every feather, they take to the sky to forage.
Seeing Swallow Tailed Kites in Texas is not rare, and it is always a joy to see such an elegant, graceful raptor. If you’ve never seen one before they are a special raptor that graces the skies of SE Texas in the spring and summer.
An excerpt from TXPWD about Swallow tailed Kites in Texas:
“There are three species of kites regularly found in Texas (Swallow-tailed, Mississippi, and White-tailed kites), plus a fourth one (Hook-billed Kite) found only along the Lower Rio Grande Valley and a fifth one (Snail Kite) that has been found once or twice and is considered an accidental. None of them is as elegant as the Swallow-tailed Kite. This species is rarely misidentified due to their size, striking appearance, and graceful aerial displays. During the day, they are typically seen flying low over treetops in search of small vertebrates or diving in pursuit of flying insects over open areas. The silhouette is distinctive with long, pointed wings and a deeply forked tail. Swallow-tailed Kites rarely flap their wings but continuously rotate their tail, sometimes nearly 90 degrees. When flying into the wind, they seem to hang motionless”
For posts on individual species, navigate to the “Birds I have Known” category