Notes About Some of the Contributors in 1998
- Loretta Broussard of Chevron kept people informed about these kites in her area (Orange County) by writing about them in Chevron's Employee Newsletter called Shades of Orange.
- Mendy Rabicoff heard that Temple-Inland Forest was a partner on this survey and he wrote that he was very excited and happy to help.
- Several sightings were received from people not necessarily looking for kites, but who were told of this project by U.S. Forest Service personnel.
- Rich Damron was in the right place at the right time when the young birds fledged the nest in Orange County. He described their attempts to stay on a branch, right side up. One adult was bringing food while the other adult watched from nearby.
- Dick Benoit counted 19 Swallow-tailed Kites in one group. He did a Sylvan Beach "unofficial" hawk watch on his own for roughly 5 hours per day for 31 observation days (151 hours of total observation) from March 8 to May 10.
- While conducting a Breeding Bird Survey in Newton County, Cliff Shackelford and Ray Brown saw a tight flock of seven kites at one of their survey stops. This was the largest flock seen away from the coast this year.
Notes About Some of the Contributors in 1999
- June and Emil Fischer of Vidor in Orange County, had a Swallow-tailed Kite nest just outside their front door, literally! Two birds fledged and remained in their yard for quite some time. The fledglings moved from tree to tree while the parents continued to feed them for a period of time.
- Charles Post of Liberty County took the lead in getting other birders in the county on board with this project. He collected sightings for the entire season from members of his community and sent them to us. His efforts, combined with the enthusiasm of the Liberty County birders, have given us a 'great picture' of kite activity in Liberty County. Members of this birding group witnessed adults feeding small prey items to their young kites after they had fledged in July, but no active nest was found.
- Barbara Tilton, also from Liberty County, made the search for kites a family and neighborhood affair. She even got her son, Mike Tilton, involved. He found a kite on the Liberty/Hardin county line on September 30, 1999, a very late sighting in the season for the area.
- In Orange County, Dan Cornwall, with the help of his neighbor, Bill Ward, kept a record of almost daily sightings around their neighborhood. Their records drew Gael Simons and Trent Miller, both of Austin, to the area where they found a newly-fledged kite sitting next to a nest with the parents swooping down to feed it.
- Kenneth Howard in Newton County had kites displaying on his property for several weeks. He took wonderful photographs that show kites capturing insects over some fields. The number of kites he saw daily gradually increased until a total of 18 were seen over one of his fields on July 28, 1999.
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