I Photographed Florida’s Endangered Snail Kite from an Airboat
I froze my fingers off on a Florida airboat to chase one of the state’s rarest raptors: the Everglade snail kite. 🦅 In this video, I head out with Captain John Ruggeri of Boggy Creek Airboat Adventures, who promised he knew exactly where to find these endangered birds of prey. He was not kidding. Within minutes we were surrounded by snail kites—dark, hawk‑sized raptors with red eyes and orange legs—hovering over the marsh and diving for apple snails. I’ll take you along for the ride as we: Cruise a cold Central Florida marsh by airboat Find multiple Everglade snail kites hunting in the same area Hear their wings whoosh right over our heads Try (and fail, and try again) to photograph these insanely fast birds in flight Beyond the adventure, we’ll talk about why the Florida snail kite is federally endangered, how it evolved to eat almost only apple snails, and why protecting Florida’s wetlands is critical for this species’ survival. If you love Florida wildlife, bird photography, or just need an excuse to get outside and look a little closer at the “everyday” animals around you, this one’s for you. 👇 CONNECT & LEARN MORE 📸 Captain John Ruggeri on Instagram: @airboatphotographer 🚤 Boggy Creek Airboat Adventures (Kissimmee, FL) 🦅 Everglade snail kite info: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission & National Park Service If you enjoyed this video, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and drop a comment with your favorite Florida bird—or tell me if you’ve ever seen a snail kite in the wild! Welcome to the official YouTube channel of WKMG News 6. As Central Florida’s trusted local news source, News 6 tells the stories that impact you. From breaking news to investigative reports, weather updates to events in your neighborhood, our News 6 Community Correspondents deliver the stories that matter. It’s impactful journalism that changes life for the better. We're proud to be part of the Central Florida community. Joey Manna is a Creative Services Producer with News 6. You can find his latest reporting here: https://tinyurl.com/3vew9abu Watch more from News 6 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@News6WKMG/videos 📰 More news stories: https://www.clickorlando.com/ ▶️ Watch News 6 live: https://www.clickorlando.com/watch-live/ 📩 Sign up for the News 6 newsletter: https://www.clickorlando.com/account/newsletters/