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THE WILSON JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY • Vol. 123, No. 1, March 2011 
TABLE 1. Dates of observation and nest discovery, and nest fates of Swallow-tailed Kites in the White River National 
Wildlife Refuge, Arkansas, USA. 
Year 
Obs" 
Observed b 
Nest found 
Stage 
Date failed c 
Stage 
Failure cause 
2002 
13 
1 May-24 May 
24 May 
Building 
27 May 
Building 
Abandoned 
2003 
7 
12 May-24 Jun 
2004 
17 
24 Apr-13 Jul 
19 May 
Building 
27 May 
Incubation 
Unknown 
2005 
12 
8 May-21 Jul 
23 May 
Nestling 
28 May 
Nestling 
Raptor 
2006 
11 
17 Apr-3 Jun 
17 Apr 
Building 
30 Apr 
Incubation 
Possibly ratsnake 
2007 
9 
24 Apr-8 Jun 
2008 
16 
9 Apr-6 Aug 
15 Apr 
Building 
26 May 
Nestling 
Researcher disturbance 
2009 8 15 Apr-30 May 
a Number of observations involving si kite. 
Inclusive dates for all kite observations. 
c Failure date was estimated as the middle of visitation intervals (2008 failure date known by reviewing video). 
Nuttall oak (Q. texana), sugarberry (Celtis 
laevigata), green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica ), 
bald cypress (Taxodium distichum ), and hickory 
(Carya spp.). 
Field Procedures .—We searched for kites from 
early April through mid-July 2001 to 2009. 
Searches in 2001 and 2002 were based on 
reported observations and suitable habitat, and 
were broader than later searches, covering several 
large areas of the refuge and bordering lands (St. 
Pierre 2006). Searches in subsequent years 
focused on areas of previous nests and observa¬ 
tions. We conducted searches from a helicopter in 
2002 and 2007 following repeated observations of 
a pair of kites in a localized area. We checked 
status and stages of nests by monitoring them 
every 3 to 7 days using binoculars and a spotting 
scope at 50-100 m from the nest tree. Nests were 
considered occupied if a kite was on the nest 
during >1 nest check and we estimated nesting 
stage by monitoring adult behavior. 
We attached snake excluder devices (SNED) 
(Neal et al. 1998) to trunks of nest trees (none 
attached in 2002) >1 week after incubation 
began. SNEDs consisted of a thin sheet of 
aluminum flashing 90 cm high, camouflaged with 
paint, attached using staples or screws, and 
greased as an added preventive measure. We used 
a specially-designed infrared video recording 
system from Fuhrman Diversified Inc. (Fieldcam: 
Field Television System: LDTLV/Box/Versacam/ 
IR60, Seabrook, TX, USA) in 2008 near a nest 
when we estimated nestlings to be 7 days of age. 
We deployed the camera shortly after sunrise to 
prevent chicks from being exposed to mid-day 
temperatures. The camera (dimensions: 30 X 22 
X 10 cm) was mounted 3 m from the nest on an 
adjacent limb within the nest tree and was covered 
with camouflage fabric. 
We noted vegetation characteristics from nest 
and paired random sites following the BBIRD 
protocol (Martin et al. 1997, St. Pierre 2006). 
Random plots were within 250 m of nest trees and 
were generated using a random number table. Our 
data collection at nest and random sites included: 
height of all overstory trees within an 11.3-m 
radius circular plot, emergence of nest or plot 
center trees above surrounding trees, diameter at 
breast height (DBH) of nest and plot center trees, 
and distance to nearest forest edge. Nest and tree 
height, DBH, and plot distance from edge were 
measured using a clinometer, diameter tape 
measure, and Global Positioning System (GPS) 
unit, respectively. We used paired /-tests (SAS 
Institute 2003) for all statistical comparisons 
except for non-normal data which we analyzed 
using Wilcoxon's signed-ranks test. Means ± SD 
are reported and we considered results significant 
if P < 0.05. 
RESULTS 
We located five nests of Swallow-tailed Kites 
in the White River National Wildlife Refuge; one 
each during 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008 
(Table 1). All nesting attempts failed. We ob¬ 
served no Swallow-tailed Kites in 2001. We 
observed a single kite in 2003 and a pair in both 
2007 and 2009, but were unable to locate a nest 
during these years; we failed to observe any 
fledglings in years we did not locate nests. We 
found the 2002 nest during a helicopter search ol 
an area where we made repeated observations ol 
kites. Upon locating a nest, the helicopter hovered 
^50 m from it for <45 sec before leaving the 
