Do send me your good wildlife photos if you have any, please. Today’s dollop comes from reader Paul Peed, whose notes are indented. Paul’s eBird site is here, and his Instagram site is here.
Diversity in the Falconidae family
On a early March trip to T.M. Goodwin Waterfowl Management Area in Brevard County, Fl, I ran into a wonderful diversity of Falconidae members.
My observing day begins at dawn on Fellsmere Grade Road before beginning a trek through Goodwin when it opens at 9:00 AM. The first falcon I see is stunning and a relative rarity at Goodwin. A Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus). Unfortunately, he positioned himself into the sun. Apologies for the lower quality image.
Around the next bend is another rarity, this pocket raptor, a Merlin, the size of a pigeon and is a rare sighting at this birding “hotspot’:
Male Merlin -Taiga subspecies (Falco columbarius columbarius). The Merlin was a favorite of Mary Queen of Scots and Catherine the Great.
You have met the tiny Merlin, now meet the Eagle-sized Crested Caracara (Caracara cheriway). This is a Juvenile Crested Caracara:
This bizarre looking juvenile is also known as the Mexican Eagle. It is only slightly smaller than a Bald Eagle, has the talons and beak of a hawk, and yet is a tropical brown falcon. You find them in the company of Turkey Vultures feasting on carrion on the open plain.
Adult crested caracara.
Not 20 meters from the Crested Caracara is a return to small falcons. An American Kestrel (Falco sparverius). The American Kestrel is North America’s smallest falcon, but is a fierce predator of insects and other small prey, To watch an American Kestrel face into the wind and hover while scanning the ground for prey is an experience not to be missed. Look for high perches such as telephone poles, power lines or standing dead wood affording an overlook position to locate these guys:
One trip to my birding “patch”, we saw 4 diverse Falcon family members among the 62 species observed. Nice way to spend a day. Please consider participating in the citizen science project, eBird. It is a constantly updated database of bird observations covering the nation and the world. It is terrific for finding what birds are in your neighborhood or favorite “patch” and when they appear in numbers. For example, a bar chart detailing all sightings of Mallards in Cook County, Illinois (Chicago) this year.
Thanks for the great photos and for the info on eBird. The interactive map is great. There is one spot along a road here in south central PA where I can count on seeing an American Kestrel perched on the utility lines almost every time I drive by. I saw on the map that someone else spotted the little guy in the same place and reported him!
Thanks. That interactive map is very useful. If you want to see if a particular species is in your area or where you have to go worldwide to see a particular bird… that tool is the answer. Glad you like it.
Paul — I am birdsinVero on eBird and Instagram
Beautiful peregrine photo!
Thanks kindly
I’m a fan of Paul Peed’s photos here and on Instagram.
I am not in an area where I get to see such a variety of birds so these photos are so wonderful for me to see.
Thank you!
Thanks Debbie. I am glad you enjoy them. I try to post all the species I run across so everyone can enjoy the diversity in the avian world. Hope you enjoyed my recent jaunt around Florida and Georgia. Was a lot of fun.
nice set!
I wonder if the name “caracara” is the inspiration for Kipling’s “Kolokolo bird”
Satiable curiosity?
My guess is no. The story is set in southern Africa by the grey-green greasy Limpopo River and I think Kipling, for all the anthropomorphism, is quite good at using animal species appropriate to the location of his stories. Caracaras are new world species and not known in Africa. It seems likely to me that kolokolo is probably an onomatopoeic name for whatever species Kipling had in mind and I also dont think Caracara vocalisations fit with the description in the story.
I’d never heard of the Crested Caracara. Looks like it is not widespread in the USA. Only found around the US-Mexican border. Thanks for the intro.
Large population in central Florida. Was threatened for a time when disease hit the orange groves and land was re-purposed affecting species nesting habitat but has been making a comeback recently. Population also seriously affected by human persecution of carrion eating species. Shooting, poisoning, trapping…and some wonder why I sometimes prefer the company of birds to humans.
I heartily agree with your choice of companions. I would rather offend a cretinous human biped than upset one of our fair feathered friends(ducks included). I would like to have become a veterinarian or a Dr. Doolittle. I have a dream…
These are all great. I’ve been seeing Turkey Vultures as the migrate up to Washington this time of year. They’re marvelous fliers.
Loved the Merlin photos.
These are beautiful.
+!
Lower quality?! Not so, to my eyes! These are great, Paul.
Thanks to all the other recent reader wildlife photographers to whom I haven’t had a chance to express my appreciation, for their fine work.
Each raptor better than the last, thanks! And thanks also for mentioning ebird. I’m afraid I’ll only be adding on sightings of crows and cardinals, but it *says* everything is useful, so why not?