Southern Crested Caracara

When I go to my hometown of Eagle Pass, just 150 miles southwest of San Antonio, I see them often on telephone poles or flying around. They are magnificent to look at. I first saw these birds in the 1980s and have become more numerous since then, they appear to be heading further into Texas as I now seem then closer to San Antonio.

Magnificent birds. Beautiful and powerful. And colorful! We see them often in south Texas, usually hunting in pairs. It is not at all uncommon to spot a pair in a plowed corn field or cotton field or in a grassy pasture making a meal of some creature or other. Once we watched a pair trying to take on a large, angry snake in a pasture. Suddenly a tremendous red tailed hawk swooped down from out of nowhere and grabbed the snake but he wasn't able to cope with it either. He flew only a few feet, barely clearing the ground, before dropping the snake and eventually flying away. The caracaras stayed a little longer, following the snake on foot but at a respectful distance. Needless to say no one enjoyed snake for dinner that day!