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I had a real treat today.  I was walking the trail at Orlando Wetlands Park, and I came upon a pair of Crested Caracaras just sitting on the trail up ahead of me.  With a little patience, I was able to creep pretty close to them and get some good shots before they flew. 

Nikon D300, 70-300mm AF-S VR, ISO 200, f/8, 1/250" (aperture priority at -0.33 EV), no crop or edit

 

Nikon D300, 70-300mm AF-S VR, ISO 200, f/8, 1/250" (aperture priority at -0.33 EV), no crop or edit

 

 

Nikon D300, 70-300mm AF-S VR, ISO 200, f/8, 1/250" (aperture priority at -0.33 EV), no crop or edit

 

 

Nikon D300, 70-300mm AF-S VR, ISO 200, f/8, 1/160" (aperture priority at -0.33 EV), no crop, a little RAW processing, no edit

 

 

Twice, the pair just flew farther down the trail and I caught up to them again.  Then, I noticed that there was a third one farther ahead, a juvenile.  When the pair flew off one last time, he took off as well, but he landed in a tree nearby to keep an eye on me.

Nikon D300, 70-300mm AF-S VR, ISO 200, f/8, 1/500" (aperture priority at -0.33 EV), small crop, light boost to brightness and saturation, subtle sharpen

 

Incidentally, I had another surprise at Orlando Wetlands today.  He seemed to be keeping an eye on the park entrance...

eastern diamondback rattlesnake, what a beauty.  i can't tell from the photo, how big was it (~ft)?

the photos of the caracaras are fantastic, they have been on my list of birds to obs for sometime now.  i've yet to see this species and it looks like you got the full interior tour, lucky.  any notable remarks of their behavior?  thanks for sharing these photos, they are great.

natureboy:

eastern diamondback rattlesnake, what a beauty.  i can't tell from the photo, how big was it (~ft)?

I'd call him medium-large.  Maybe 5 or 6 feet, although I'm going from memory, so I'm not sure.  It was probably as big as any other diamondback I've seen.  He rattled a bit when I first brought my lens up to shoot, but other than than he was pretty calm.

 

natureboy:

the photos of the caracaras are fantastic, they have been on my list of birds to obs for sometime now.  i've yet to see this species and it looks like you got the full interior tour, lucky.  any notable remarks of their behavior?  thanks for sharing these photos, they are great.

Thanks for the compliments!

One thing I did notice was that they were completely silent the whole time I watched them, including the juvenile.  Most raptors I've seen seem to vocalize much more than that.  They also seem to be heavy for their wings.  When they took off, they took two steps, then a strong hop before they got airborne.  Even though they're classified as a kind of falcon, they seem to have a lot in common with vultures.

The photos are great, better than all of mine.

I see Caracaras west of Houston. I see them often feeding with vultures. The seem to run the vultures off the carrion and take over. Last winter I saw two with a White Tailed Hawk. I was very excited about the hawk as it was the first time I got a positive ID on one. The hawk stood back but would venture in, grab a morsel and back off. The Caracaras took their time. I have never seen one eating on a perch. I see no reason they would not but I have never seen it. When they launch from the perch they dive a bit like a heavy airplane on an aircraft carrier. From the ground they do a little two step, or crow hop, and then launch. I think they are beautiful in flight though.

The one observation I have made in recent years is the expansion, or movement, of their range further northeast than a few years ago. I have noted this before in other threads. I see them regularly now just west of Houston. I used to drive near Victoria, 50 miles or so, to spot them. One more observation is that they will follow the geese flocks around like a Bald Eagle. I have seen them watching a group of Sandhill Cranes. Maybe they were waiting on a sick or weak one. I don't know if they could take a crane.

For what its worth, those are my observations.  

  

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KATY, TEXAS

Tuggy:

The one observation I have made in recent years is the expansion, or movement, of their range further northeast than a few years ago. I have noted this before in other threads. I see them regularly now just west of Houston. I used to drive near Victoria, 50 miles or so, to spot them.

The most recent bird list (it's several years old) for Orlando Wetlands Park has the Caracara listed as an accidental species.  This is the second time I've seen them here this year, though.

They're known to be common around Lake Okeechobee, which is a good bit south of here, so I'd guess their range has been expanding north here as well.

They have become a favorite bird of mine. I usually scare my wife when I see one while driving along and hit the breaks to go check it out. I suspect the drought in South Texas is, at least, partly responsible for their movement. They may also be increasing in numbers. In any case your pictures are great. Watch for them in winter and see if they follow the geese.   

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KATY, TEXAS

I think Caracaras are the coolest looking birds! Interesting that they are being seen further north in other parts of the country---here in AZ as well. The one time I had great views of a pair, they were on top of two saguaro cacti, and as I watched, the one closest to me flew over to perch on an arm of the same cactus the other was on. I noticed the flight being vulture-like as well---very slow and deep strokes.

Of course, no camera... Someday I'll go back to the same area, camera ready.

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8 days camping in Western Colorado and 5 new birds: Juniper Titmouse, Mountain Bluebird, Black-billed Magpie, Clark's Nutcracker, Gray Jay. Beautiful!!!

Beautiful pictures, lyceel.

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My unorganized pictures can be viewed at

http://picasaweb.google.com/lonestranger102

I know this thread is old but I was at Walmart today and there was a juvenile C. Caracara sitting on the fence at Walmart. This is the second "urban" C. Caracara I have seen this year. Another was in a schoolyard nearby (maybe the same bird?). I bring this up because we discussed the possibility of range expansion in Arizona and Florida as well as Texas. I am certainly no scholar on such matters but it seems to me that this is a bird not well suited for urban life. If this bird decides to have lunch in one's backyard it will surely scare the children. Has anyone else noticed these birds in other than rural environments? Or is this a fluke?

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KATY, TEXAS

I'm new here--but it looks like my guess was correct?   We were reading our Birds of North America book to try to find out what this bird is:

 

 Sorry it's so dark--my little Canon Power Shot couldn't make up its mind as it was dusk outside.

Is this a juvenile caracara, do you think?  This was walking around in our condo complex!  We are just directly west of the Sam Houston Tollway near Memorial Drive. It was the strangest thing we'd seen since the peacocks showed up a few years back.  According to my book (c. 1966) caracaras do live year round along the gulf coast but I have to agree with Tuggy that they must be pushing further northeast, because I have lived here my whole life and frankly, I have never seen anything like this! LOL!  Just amazing.  He/she was sooo calm, we were wondering if he may have been hurt as he let us get awfully close as you can see.  He did not try to fly away in any way.  Just went on about his business trying to find food.  It was pretty cool!

WOW! This bird will get quite big. You are not that far from where I saw the one sitting on the Walmart fence. That was at I-10 and Fry Road. As the "Eagle" flys, that is close. The thing I am having  hard time with is that they like prairie. Your area is quite heavily wooded. (except for all the concrete) Maybe the young one just got lost. His nest may have been inside the resovoir area. This is amazing.

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KATY, TEXAS

Cool story and nice picture! 

It's definitely a Caracara.  I'm not sure if it's a juvenile or not, but that would be my guess as well.  From what I've read, their face color can vary at all ages, but the juveniles I've seen seem to typically be more pale than the adults.

 

I would like to thank who ever sent the crested caracara up to the Seattle area this past weekend!  It was seen by several local birders at a park.  I hope it hangs around for a few days so I can get a picture.  As far as I know there has not been a report of a captured one missing.  This is pretty exciting stuff around here!

 

Somehow I missed this thread until now. Great pics lyceel.

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Sony DSLR A200 camera. Sigma 400mm APO prime lens, Sony 55-200mm lens, Sony 18-70mm lens, Kenko 1.5X teleconverter.