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I ended up by chance over the weekend at the Mitchell Lake Audubon Center in San Antonio. it is a disused waste water treatment facility, basically a series of ponds separated by dikes that provide some lovely waterfowl viewing, but also a host of other animals and plants. Everyone has their own bit of excitement when they see something, even if it may be old hat for another. For me it was two Crested Caracara (Caracara cheriway) sitting atop a pole preening. They are a beautiful bird, and I have wanted to see them somewhere other than passing by at 70 mph as I drove down the road. Unlike some other raptors, they really seemed unconcerned with me as I watched from a distance, and then approached their perch. They just continued to scratch and stretch, letting me know just how insignificant I was to them.
The Crested Caracara, sometimes known as the “Mexican Eagle,” may or may not be the national symbol of Mexico. There are mixed reports (and apparently no official documentation) as to whether the Eagle depicted on the Mexican national Flag is a Golden Eagle or a Crested Caracara (or perhaps something else). Depending upon who you ask, either or neither is the Mexican national bird and national symbol. On any documents I have seen from Mexican embassies, they simply state the bird on the flag and seal is an eagle.
This is not the only bit of confusion surrounding the Crested Caracara, it is a bit of a confused bird itself. It sort of looks like an eagle, or maybe a hawk, it eats like a vulture, but is considered a falcon, in the Order Falconiformes and the Family Falconidae (though there have been debates on just where it should be placed taxonomically). They are unusual among raptors and particularly among the falcons in the amount of time they spend on the ground walking - a far cry from their swift little cousins the Peregrine Falcons. They eat carrion, but also invertebrates and small vertebrates, and will steal food from other birds in flight, landing on their backs and forcing them to drop or regurgitate their food. Their face color, which is normally a reddish-orange, can flush through orange to yellow when the bird is excited or threatened, and its crest will also stand more erect when threatened.
The Crested Caracara, sometimes known as the “Mexican Eagle,” may or may not be the national symbol of Mexico. There are mixed reports (and apparently no official documentation) as to whether the Eagle depicted on the Mexican national Flag is a Golden Eagle or a Crested Caracara (or perhaps something else). Depending upon who you ask, either or neither is the Mexican national bird and national symbol. On any documents I have seen from Mexican embassies, they simply state the bird on the flag and seal is an eagle.
This is not the only bit of confusion surrounding the Crested Caracara, it is a bit of a confused bird itself. It sort of looks like an eagle, or maybe a hawk, it eats like a vulture, but is considered a falcon, in the Order Falconiformes and the Family Falconidae (though there have been debates on just where it should be placed taxonomically). They are unusual among raptors and particularly among the falcons in the amount of time they spend on the ground walking - a far cry from their swift little cousins the Peregrine Falcons. They eat carrion, but also invertebrates and small vertebrates, and will steal food from other birds in flight, landing on their backs and forcing them to drop or regurgitate their food. Their face color, which is normally a reddish-orange, can flush through orange to yellow when the bird is excited or threatened, and its crest will also stand more erect when threatened.
Although the Caracara was by far not the only bird I saw that day, it is the most notable as I was unable previously to get any pictures of it. Now, taking pictures isn’t necessarily the reason to be out with nature, and at times it can even be a distraction or keep your focus so close to one thing that you miss the myriad other fascinating bits going on all around. But I like to have my camera ready, to try and capture even small bits of what is happening. These help stir memories, but they also provide starting points for learning and training. I can review the photographs later, revisit what I saw, check through the guidebooks to make or verify an ID. Learn more about the plant or animal so next time I am more familiar, more aware. It is a tradeoff, lugging around the camera, thinking in terms of the photograph, but the advent of digital photography has made it much more cost and time effective to “collect” images rather than items, and to see details in the smallest, to draw the distant closer, and to provide a way to share what I encounter with others, hopefully encouraging their own walk with nature.
Some additional online resources on the Caracara:
Cornell Lab of Ornithology All About Birds
Peregrine Fund
National Audubon Society
BirdNote
San Antonio Audubon News
BirdWeb
Florida Field Naturalist (PDF)
Some additional online resources on the Caracara:
Cornell Lab of Ornithology All About Birds
Peregrine Fund
National Audubon Society
BirdNote
San Antonio Audubon News
BirdWeb
Florida Field Naturalist (PDF)