Birds of North Carolina
their Distribution and Abundance
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
ACCIPITRIDAE Members: Snail Kite 12224
General Comments
This rare (Federally listed) species is normally found only from central Florida southward, and is mostly non-migratory. One of the more shocking records in recent years was the discovery of an adult male Snail Kite at some crayfish ponds near Rimini, South Carolina, in spring 2007. The bird remained for nearly a month, and was seen by practically all who made the trip. Not to be outdone, North Carolina got its own record -- the northernmost ever recorded -- in spring 2009. Since 2009, there have been four additional reports, all but one in the Coastal Plain.
Breeding Status
Nonbreeder
NC BRC List
Definitive
State Status
none
U.S. Status
Definitive
State Rank
SA
Global Rank
G4G5
Coastal Plain
Three accepted records, and one additional report that has yet to be voted on. The first was an adult male found dead on 10 April in the Crusoe Island section of Columbus* (Chat 74:35-37). The dead bird is now a specimen at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. The second state record was even more amazing owing to time of year --an immature bird seen and photographed in flight a few miles north of Oregon Inlet (Dare) on 4 Dec 2019* (Chat 84:66) (Chat 84:79). A surprising third report came in 2021: "A GPS-tagged juvenile, originally tagged as a fledgling 10 Jun at Lake Kissimmee Florida, was tracked flying north through both states [assumed to be Georgia and South Carolina] until the tag stopped transmitting near Broadwater Bridge Rd in Roseboro (Sampson) NC 2 Aug" (Chat 86:39). Though no one saw the bird in NC, it should be assumed to have occurred in the state, as the GPS signal stopped in Sampson County; the report has not yet been reviewed by the NC BRC. There may well be a question as to whether this last report should truly "count" as a third record, as there was no visual proof of it being seen in the state, and the NC BRC may well have difficulty in being able to vote on it. A female photographed, perched, at Harkers Island (Carteret) on 13 Apr 2024* (Chat 88:72), (Chat 90:4) was certainly the best documented one in the state, but it was not seen again.
Piedmont
No records.
Mountain
One record. An immature was photographed at a rest area near Andrews (Cherokee) on 31 Mar 2025 (Chat 89:122). This report has yet to be reviewed by the NC BRC.
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