Here is a female snail kite flying off after biting and snapping this section of branch. She is most likely going to utilize it for her nest somewhere. Gail B. and I spent a day on a boat shooting this fascinating species, endangered since 1967 in Florida due to disruption of water flow resulting in both habitat and snail population loss... Notice how full her crop is in this frame. There is quite a bit of snail meat in a large snail and I'm sure she has had a good meal that day!
I was pleased with my focus locking onto the bird(s) as they often were in the midst of branches from small trees and bushes. Most kites were banded but sometimes they had not been tagged.
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