Date: 9/30/26 11:24 pm From: Mark McShane <00001c91b59d7b85-dmarc-request...> Subject: [GABO-L] Georgia 2026 Swallow-tailed Kite Season Summary
Hi All,
Firstly, a stray Swallow-tailed Kite could still show up somewhere in Georgia this year, but usually by October they are mostly all well and truly migrated out or through.
At my last Georgia Swallow-tailed Kite post, on 7/17/2026, Swallow-tailed Kites had been eBird documented and confirmed this year in 72 Georgia counties up through that date!
Since 7/17 the species has been eBird documented and confirmed in 48 additional new for the year Georgia counties for a total of now 120 Georgia Swallow-tailed Kite counties for 2026 (so far)!
This leaves only 39 Georgia counties without 2026 Swallow-tailed Kites, so amazing and pretty cool!
The eBird sightings ranged from many single birds to 138 high-count kites observed together near Glennville in Tattnall County on 7/22.
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At the beginning of 2026 there were 14 Georgia counties without a confirmed eBird Swallow-tailed Kite record:
Baldwin
Clayton
Dade
Dawson
Douglas
Lincoln
Lumpkin
Paulding
Polk
Taliaferro
Towns
Union
Walker
Worth
By the traditional end of the season this year the kites had been seen, documented, and eBird confirmed in 6 of those 14 Georgia counties for the first time:
County - Found by, date, (number of kites)
Baldwin - James White, 7/21, (4)
Clayton - Kathy Miller, 8/7, (1)
Dawson - Warren Howe, 8/4, (2)
Lumpkin - Sherry Lane, 7/29, (3 to eventually 12)
Taliaferro - Jim Hanna/James White, 7/19, (2)
Worth - Erin Consuegra, 5/4, (1)
Only 8 Georgia counties now remain without an eBird confirmed Swallow-tailed Kite record.
How long will it be before Georgia is the second state to have confirmed STKI records in all of its counties, after Florida (with only 67 counties)?
Thanks so much to everyone who eBird reported Swallow-tailed Kites in Georgia this year!
- - -
THE SPECIAL (but still very virtual) GEORGIA 2026 SWALLOW-TAILED KITE SEASON COUNTY BIRDING AWARD (goes to): JAMES WHITE
James White and I have been out together on several multi-day Georgia County Swallow-tailed Kite quests this year looking for the birds in new counties for the both of us. We've often collaborated on finding the birds as well. Personally, I found the kites in 16 new Georgia counties to reach 103 personal all-time Georgia STKI counties this season.
However, while scanning for kites with James this year, he's always been so mild-mannered, I've never seen him show any inclination or tendency to transform into an immense, green-skinned, hulking Swallow-tailed Kite finding brute, with a limitless degree of physical strength and power to apply to the kite-finding task at hand, and with optics 10-feet long!
I will tell you though, that there must be something similar going on with James, at least behind the scenes, this year. James has found the kites in 28 personal new Georgia counties this year, clobbering my personal 22 county record from 2022, and he now has a Georgia leading total of 114 lifetime personal Georgia Swallow-tailed Kite counties! Plus, James found the kites as well in two new Georgia counties this year where they had never been documented previously! Super Congratulations to James!
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Interesting Swallow-tailed Kite (STKI) County Data for the Southern/Southeastern U.S. States - Mid Summer 2026
State (number of counties) - STKI (number of counties) - Needed number of STKI counties - Breeding/No Breeding:
ALABAMA (67 counties) - STKI 60 - Need 7 STKI counties - Breeding
ARKANSAS (75 counties) - STKI 39 - Need 36 STKI counties - No Breeding
FLORIDA (67 counties) - STKI 67 - Need 0 STKI counties - Breeding
GEORGIA (159 counties) - STKI 151 - Need 8 STKI counties - Breeding
LOUISIANA (64 counties) - STKI 55 - Need 9 STKI counties - Breeding
MISSISSIPPI (82 counties) - STKI 54 - Need 28 STKI counties - Breeding
NORTH CAROLINA (100 counties) - STKI 80 - Need 20 STKI counties - Breeding
SOUTH CAROLINA (46 counties) - STKI 44 - Need 2 STKI counties - Breeding
TENNESSEE (95 counties) - STKI 54 - Need 41 STKI counties - No Breeding
TEXAS (254 counties) - STKI 122 - Need 132 STKI counties - Breeding
By state with most counties with STKI records:
STKI Counties - State w/Number of total counties - STKI counties needed
STKI 151 - GEORGIA 159 - Need 8
STKI 122 - TEXAS 254 - Need 132
STKI 80 - NORTH CAROLINA 100 - Need 20
STKI 67 - FLORIDA 67 - Need 0
STKI 60 - ALABAMA 67 - Need 7
STKI 55 - LOUISIANA 64 - Need 9
STKI 54 - MISSISSIPPI 82 - Need 28
STKI 54 - TENNESSEE 95 - Need 41
STKI 44 - SOUTH CAROLINA 46 - Need 2
STKI 39 - ARKANSAS 75 - Need 36
REGION STKI Counties 726 - REGION 1009 Total Counties - REGION Needs 283 STKI Counties
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