Everglades Kite – Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, Florida: Loxahatchee NWR is located just west of Palm Beach in what was once the eastern expanse of the wild everglades. Today the former everglades north of highway US41 is a series sugar cane fields and huge water impoundments with controlled water levels. They are also home to the endangered Everglades Kite, also know as the Snail Kite. The Everglades Kite is a specialist, feeding primarily on Ampullariidae, or Apple Snails as they are commonly known. This kite was photographed as it soared over the sawgrass glades searching for Apple Snails. Clearly seen is the kites deeply curved beak, which it uses to open the snails Operculum and reach inside the shell to extract the meat of the snail.
No comments:
Post a Comment