Birds and Nature

 Another neat find during my car birding exploration yesterday was this amazing number of Crested Caracaras congregated on the ground and in a nearby tree.  First I spotted the 15 Crested Caracaras in the pic above that appeared to be eating but I couldn't see what that could be along this long stretch of dirt.  Then I found more than 30 more Crested Caracaras in this nearby tree for a total of almost 50 of these birds in just a few acres of land. There was a pond nearby but it had few birds on it but it would seem likely there is some good food source for them there (they eat rabbits, ground squirrels, skunks,birds, frogs, lizards, snakes, turtles, young alligators, fish and large insects per Audubon Birds app).  SeEtta

Though I saw a few Crested Caracaras in the Uvalde area (at the edge of Texas Hill/River Country & the beginning of South Texas), the numbers I saw this afternoon as I drove into South Texas were impressive--about 30 in under 300 miles or about one for every 10 highway mile. Crested Caracaras are quite distinctive in appearance, even in flight, as shown in these pics. Though their faces are usually only viewable with binoculars, their bright orange facial skin (ironically matching their legs) stands out. Though they will take live prey, both invertebrate and vertebrates, they also eat carrion and are known to join vultures to chow down on some rotted delight. SeEtta

Though I saw this nice Crested Caracara just a little south of the Falfurrias Rest Stop, I saw 5-6 Crested Caracaras as I drove a county road just northeast of the rest stop and 2 of them were engaged in an aerial manuevers. This could be siblings engaged in play according to the Birds of North America online which states that siblings of this species "are frequently seen conducting aerial manuevers, chasing each other." I was also delighted to spot a White-tailed Hawk flying near the road as well as several Harris' Hawks, specialties of the Rio Grande Valley along with Crested Caracara. It was quite a nice welcome to the area for me as during prior trips here I have missed some of these species. SeEtta