Explore South Florida’s Majestic Kites: Swallow-tailed, Snail, and White-tailed Kites
South Florida is home to some of the most captivating birds of prey in North America — the Swallow-tailed Kite, Snail Kite, and White-tailed Kite. Known for their graceful flight and unique hunting behavior, these raptors are often seen soaring over wetlands, marshes, and open fields. South Florida is one of the only regions in the United States where birdwatchers can observe all three kite species in their natural habitat. From the striking black-and-white Swallow-tailed Kite to the snail-hunting Snail Kite and the elusive White-tailed Kite, these birds make South Florida a must-visit destination for birding and wildlife photography.
For many years my family has been going to Western Alberta, Canada to vacation in the Summer time. Florida tends to get very hot and humid during the Summer, so the mountains and cool air of the Canadian Rockies offer a nice escape. Getting to see expansive views from mountaintops is very exciting after spending most of the year in Florida's flat swamps and marshes.
My home base while in Alberta is Canmore, where there are tons of hiking and nature trails around town. There's 4 different mountain trails, trails leading around town, and along the bow river. The best part about Canmore is the views. The views around Canmore are just incredible.
One of my favorite views in Canmore happens to be less than a 10 minute walk. It doesn't matter if it is sunrise or sunset, if I have the time to walk over then I make the trip to what some locals call "the money shot."
The Three Sisters can be seen from all over Canmore and create a nice backdrop for photos from just about anywhere.
Sunshine Meadows
The most expansive views I have yet to see can be found at Sunshine Meadows just outside Banff National Park. This lesser known spot is known as one of the top day hikes out there, with mountains in all directions. It is a 3 1/2 hour hike up, and another 3 1/2 hours down, or travelers can take 2 gondolas up to the top to explore Sunshine Meadows expansive and panoramic views. I think Sunshine Meadows may be one of the most underrated locations when it comes to photo opportunities and excellent hiking.
Peyto Lake
Some of the most highly photographed places in the world are located in Canada's Banff National Park. Canada's third most popular photograph location is Peyto Lake.
Canada's 2nd most popular location for photos is almost a tie. Only accessible by road for up to 5 months out of the year, Moraine Lake is arguably the most photographed lake in Banff... especially at sunrise. I've spent days at Moraine Lake and watching the sunrise and first two hours of the day is second to none. Make sure you bring some warm socks and a jacket though, condensation can come up off of the ground and make a cool morning become chilly and cold.
Coming in at the number 1 spot for most photographed location in Banff National Park is Lake Louise. Known for it's perfect turquoise water, rugged peaks, and Victoria Glacier, Lake Louise offers dream compositions year round.
Before starting my hike out to Plain of the Six Glaciers, I enjoyed a morning breakfast at the Fairmont. The weather was cool, it was a little windy, and the clouds in the sky looked like it was going to rain at some point throughout my 14km+ hike.
I usually hike up to Lake Agnes and stop by the tea house there for a quick break and some warm tea. There can be a waiting line to get seated at the tea house, so I usually spend that time taking some extra photographs of Lake Agnes and some of the nearby views.
Plain of the Six Glaciers trail is about 14 km (8.7 miles) round trip, taking 4 – 6 hours, depending on pace and stops. It pairs well with the nearby Lake Agnes Tea House hike for a full-day loop.
The trail starts from the Lake Louise Lakeshore, one of the most photographed lakes in the world. You walk along the lake’s edge, away from the crowds, toward the back of the valley. Once the shoreline ends, you start climbing into the glacier-carved valley surrounded by towering peaks.
The reward: panoramic views of Victoria Glacier, Lefroy Glacier, and other glaciers that give the trail its name. There’s a charming tea house near the end, the historic Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House where you can grab tea, snacks, and fresh baked goods. I usual
Bring layers because the weather can shift from sunny to chilly fast... I've also experienced unexpected rainstorms on the hike, so have a rain jacket ready!
When I got back from hiking in Canada, I decided to start researching which hiking trails were in my area of Southwest Florida. I found the Alltrails app which was a huge help researching trails and reading reviews from people. Understanding the difficulty and trail conditions really helps in Florida when water levels change drastically throughout the year. It was very different hiking in a flat environment without the expansive views I was used to seeing while hiking in Canada.
Local Trails
I started spending most of my time hiking CREW Land & Water Trusts three existing trails. (Bird Rookery Swamp, Marsh Trails, Cypress Dome Trails) After seeing many volunteers while out on the trails, people started telling me I should become a volunteer... which I happily obliged. While volunteering I learned all about our local species of animals, plants, and insects which further fed my passion for the outdoors, wildlife and nature. I spent so much time in my life learning about imaginary animals and media that I missed developing a true appreciation for real wildlife and nature.
Designing & Building Trails
After hiking in a half-dozen states and exploring countless trails, I grew curious about what makes a trail enjoyable, and how they're designed. I became fascinated with the angles at trail intersections, the logic behind signage placement, and the overall trail experience.
Flint Pen Strand - Red Trail
That curiosity led to a hands-on opportunity when CREW Land & Water Trust began building a new trail in Bonita Springs, Florida: the Flint Pen Strand Red Trail, a 1.5-mile path. I helped carry and install large, waterlogged 8-foot wooden posts with some weighing 40–50 pounds. Once in place, each post was dug 2 feet into the ground, standing about 6 feet tall. We positioned the markers so hikers could always see the next one from their current location, helping create an intuitive and enjoyable hiking experience.
Some of the rarest and most unforgettable moments of my photography career came within the first few weeks of buying my first mirrorless camera. It was April 2018. After missing countless incredible moments while volunteering with environmental organizations, I finally decided it was time to start capturing them. I picked up a Sony a6500 mirrorless crop sensor camera paired with a 55-210mm lens, giving me an effective focal length of 82.5mm to 315mm.
To get started, I headed to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. I figured it was the perfect place to practice wildlife photography since I could get relatively close to the animals while taking advantage of my lens’s reach. One of the biggest challenges I faced early on was learning how to approach wildlife without scaring them off.
In Florida, water levels play a huge role in where birds and alligators choose to hunt. Around April, as water levels drop at Corkscrew, only two lettuce lakes often remain. These ponds become packed with thousands of trapped fish, easy prey for opportunistic alligators and wading birds that gather for a feeding frenzy. Large alligators will even come up to the boardwalk and gape if the weather and conditions are right.
On one particular visit, I witnessed something I’d never seen before. A group of roseate spoonbills; those striking pink birds with spoon-shaped bills were pinching the tails of young alligators, likely one to two years old (Florida gators typically grow 12 to 24 inches in those early years). Each time a spoonbill pinched a tail, the startled gator would dart through the muck, kicking up crustaceans in the process. The spoonbills would then sweep in and feast, saving themselves the effort of digging through the thick swamp.
Roseate Spoonbills Pinching Alligators Tails - Video
One of the smallest baby alligators got upset after a spoonbill repeatedly pinched it's tail, and the alligator whipped around and snapped at the spoonbill. Luckily, the spoonbill was much faster than the alligator and simply popped up into the air with a quick flap of it's rosy wings.
I captured that moment in a photo I titled “Tail Pinch,” taken at 82.5mm and later cropped about 20% in post. Ironically, if I had been using my Nikon D850 with a 200-500mm f/5.6 lens, I never would have gotten that shot. Sometimes, the gear you least expect delivers the perfect frame.
Little did I know just how rare those moments would be. In 2019, I didn’t witness another feeding frenzy. In 2020, COVID hit and Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary was closed. And now, in 2025, I still haven’t had another chance to photograph or film that unique interaction between two ancient species.
Maybe one day, with the skills I’ve developed, I’ll finally get that shot I’ve been chasing.
Check out the video below to hear about my Origin Story.
In 2021 I minted an early edit of "Pilings Light Show" as a digital collectable (NFT) on the Ethereum Blockchain with 10 total editions created.
*PLEASE be careful when outdoors during thunderstorms. Lightning can travel miles before striking the ground.
Typical Cloud-to-Ground Lightning: Can travel 5-10 miles (8-16 km) from the storm.
"Bolts from the Blue": These rare lightning bolts originate in the anvil of a thunderstorm and can strike as far as 25 miles (40 km) away from the storm.
Positive Lightning: A powerful type of lightning that can travel even farther than standard negative strikes, sometimes exceeding 30 miles (48 km) from the storm.
Because of this, it's possible to be struck by lightning even when the sky above you appears clear.
Always follow the 30-30 rule: If you hear thunder within 30 seconds of seeing lightning, take cover and wait at least 30 minutes after the last thunder before going outside.
The famous Fort Myers eagles M15 and F23 have been busy with their nest repairs after hurricane Helen and hurricane Milton.
The eagle pair can be seen dive bombing branches to break off nesting material, in addition to scouring the ground for nearby pine tree sticks and branches that may have fallen.
Hurricanes haven't been the only struggle for the eagle pair this season, as one of the neighborhood great horned owls made an appearance in the duo's nest early one morning. (Great horned owls do not build their own nests, they usually take over existing nests made by eagles, osprey, and hawks.)
The pair has been busy showing their affection for each other and we should have some eggs on the way sometime in the next month or so if things go well. It takes roughly 35 days for eagle eggs to hatch, which would bring some babies in mid to late December.
It then takes the newborn eagles 11 weeks to learn to fly and fully fledge so that they can start to make their own journey away from the nest.
The fledgling eagles may be the biggest birds in the sky here in Southwest Florida, but that doesn't stop smaller birds from attacking them. Crows, grackles, and a variety of smaller birds will mob the young eagles while they learn to fly. This can be especially dangerous around power lines if an eagle gets distracted.
Want to follow along the nesting season journey this year? Check out the SWFL eagle cams for 24/7 access to 4 different live cams: http://www.swfleaglecam.com
On May 27th there were 3 Snowy Plover Eggs were present in the nest. On the morning of May 28th, only 1 egg was to found in the nest. 2 Snowy Plovers hatched overnight or earlier in the morning on May 28th prior to our arrival at the nest.
7:07am - Walking to 1st photo spot
I photographed a Wilson’s Plover carrying part of an eggshell while enroute to my first photo spot. (I did not see the eggshell until after I got home to review my photos) The eggshell looks to me like it was a Snowy Plover eggshell piece from and egg that had recently hatched. It may have been an eggshell from one of the 2 Snowy Plovers that hatched overnight.
7:17am - Least Tern nesting area
Least Terns were feeding and watching their babies
Other Least Terns were sitting on eggs
7:37am - Black Skimmer Colony
A colony of Black Skimmers was also present. Many of the skimmers were preening on the ground, with some flying and running around with fish.
8:13am - Snowy Plover Nest
Moved on to the Snowy Plover nest where a single egg was located... Approached low and slow as to not disturb nearby wildlife.
8:18am - The snowy plover mother joins the father 30-40 feet away for a quick break from the nest, watching the two hatched babies.
Luckily the egg blends in with the sand and the nest was well located.
8:34am - Mom starts acting odd and making calls while on the nest. She appeared to twitch a few times and I thought maybe she was warming up the egg.
8:39am - Mom leaves the nest again to watch over the two babies with Dad.
8:42am - The Egg starts to Hatch
A small hole started on the backside of the egg at first... then more cracks started to show on top of the egg
8:48am - The baby has made a major crack towards the middle of the egg.
8:54am - The baby finally pushes through and breaks the egg open, falling forward.
9:02am - Mom comes back to the nest to see that her baby has hatched.
She begins to sit on the nest with her newborn chick.
9:20am Mom starts removing egg shell pieces and takes them away from the nest.
9:23am - The newborn Snowy Plover takes its first steps
9:42am - Mom walks off and calls to the baby, trying to get it to come to her. The newborn looks at Mom.
9:46am - The newborn baby attempts to walk towards mom but falls and can’t make it yet. She tries a few times to motivate the baby to walk towards her with no luck. 
9:48am - The newest hatchling and one of its older siblings both seek shelter under Mom.
9:54am - Mom leaves again to try and get the newborn to walk towards her. The baby makes some progress, and makes it a couple feet to the next patch of grass before taking a rest. 
9:55am - Mom is back, and leaves again. No progress
10:00am - Baby takes shelter under Mom again.
10:08am - Baby follows mom to a small patch of grass much farther away. Mom covers baby again for a minute before walking off again.
10:09am - Baby moves to a larger patch of grass a foot or two away from where it was.
10:12am - Mom comforts baby again.
10:14am - Mom leaves again. The newborn baby starts walking towards Mom and makes it over a long distance.
10:17am - The newborn meets its two siblings and Dad for the first time. 
10:24am - The newborn Snowy Plover is walking faster, and much longer distances.
What an incredible day out on the beach with friends and memories that will not be forgotten. Watching a Snowy Plover from Egg, to hatching, to the first steps, and running around within 90 minutes of being born was quite an amazing experience. I am currently working on a video compilation including the Snowy Plover hatching, its first steps, and more.
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