Interesting how things work out sometimes. I am on vacation this week and I get an email from the Ebird alert system yesterday about a rare sighting of a Swallow-tailed Kite in Lockport, Illinois. I had just read about this bird, which is mostly a resident of the swamplands from Florida to Louisiana, and I know it should be heading south about this time of the year, heading to its winter feeding grounds in South America. What is it doing here so far from its typical hunting grounds? A mystery for sure. The Lockport location was clearly marked in Ebird, as a sort of stakeout was in place and there are dozens of reports of this bird and where to find it. So, I jump in the car, get there in 30 mins and within 10 minutes of standing around with 5 or 6 other birders, the Swallow-tail gives us 20 minutes of flybys. I was shooting pics like crazy and end up getting something like 600 pictures of this one bird (which was a nightmare to edit down to an unnecessarily large pile of about 60 keepers). This is such a majestic bird and a lifer for me, I couldn't help it. The bird books describe it as one of the most beautiful birds in the United States and I have to agree. I was back home loading the pics within 90 minutes of leaving the house. Vacation days can be fun!!!
