Swallow Tailed Kite

C Fi 9915

This is the Swallow-Tailed Kite, an acrobatic flyer with a stunning and distinctive profile. "Carlton" is the name given to the swallow tailed kite tagged in Venice's Carlton Reserve June 14, 2016, then another Kite was tagged in 2017 and named "Sarasota." Local Audubon groups and the Friends of the Carlton and local Audubon groups donated $2000 to help track these birds as they migrate 10,000 miles through Central America to and from the rainforests of Brazil.

Once seen along the Mississippi River as far north as Minnesota, the Swallow-tailed Kite's range is now just a third its historic size. In the last 40 years, up to 80% of this formerly common bird species have declined. Since 1996, satellite telemetry has been used to study the ecology of Swallow-tailed Kites, including the 10,000 mile migration they make each year to the humid plains of Brazil and back to the lowlands of the southeast U.S.

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Artist

Meghan head

Meghan Naumburg

Meghan Naumburg has been passionate about art for all of her life. In 2016, she realized it was integral to her identity and it grew from there. She never let go of her dreams and desires. She is now twenty-four and seeks out any art opportunities within her community. She loves to bring beauty and kindness to those around her, whether through interaction or art. She is a huge animal-lover, environment-advocate, and humanitarian. She currently volunteers at Big Brothers Big Sisters and previously worked with a local humane society back in her home-state, Ohio. She seeks to get a degree in fine arts and psychology and hopes to eventually see her future in Ringling College of Art and Design. First, it started with volunteering at the Venice Chalk Festival in 2019. I started out with creating some flowers for the festival, eventually met Lori Escalara who allowed me to help her with some things... eventually Denise, who runs the festival, found out that I was an artist myself and allowed me to have my own square! This was an incredible blessing. The networking and friends I have made during these experiences have brought me wonderful memories and lots of knowledge! I had a volunteer coordinator reach out to me to create this art piece in Sarasota. I told her absolutely! I love knowing this piece helps bring in tourism to the area of the square... as well as brightens up the streets with creation! I painted a swallow-tailed kite! I had never seen one until I moved to Florida (July 2019)! They are incredible birds. This piece is to bring awareness of their migration to Florida, as well as to be a bit informative of their behavior, and need of this eco-system.