Yet another pair of birds

Discussion in 'Bird' started by marlingardener, Dec 13, 2015.

  1. marlingardener

    marlingardener Happy

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    It seems that we are getting more "twosomes" lately. This morning we saw two Cara-Caras on the top of a dead cedar. The image is fuzzy because the wind was blowing and we were about 200 yards away, but you get the idea of the size and coloring of these raptors.
    IMGPair of Cara caras.jpg
     
    Droopy, Sjoerd and eileen like this.
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  3. mart

    mart Strong Ash

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    Are these Texas birds MG? I have never seen or heard of these. Maybe they just don`t like North East Texas and prefer your part of the state.
     
  4. eileen

    eileen Resident Taxonomist Staff Member Moderator Plants Contributor

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    Gosh the birds must know your going to take their photographs for us. Your Cara-caras are some of the most handsome raptors I've ever seen. I wonder what pair will drop in next for their photo' shoot?
     
  5. marlingardener

    marlingardener Happy

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    Mart, Cara-caras are moving up from Mexico, and we are at the extreme northern edge of their range. We had seen them in the Austin area about 11 years ago, and have spotted them twice here on the farm within the last three years. They aren't considered native Texas birds, but their range covers most of southern Texas and some of west Texas. They are fairly common in the San Antonio area.
    Eileen, we have an audition call out for birds--so far not many have answered but we are very appreciative of those who have. We are anxiously awaiting the blue-footed Booby to arrive!
    A blue-footed booby showed up on the Travis Lake deck of a lady in Austin, and she reported it to the local Audubon Society who promptly replied, "No, you don't have a blue-footed booby." Not daunted, she contacted ornithologists at a local university, who came out to look, and by golly, she had a blue-footed booby standing on her deck! It seems the poor bird was blown off-course and landed on the first blue-footed friendly deck he found. He stuck around for a day or two and then took off for his more usual haunts. So, you never know what will show up because the birds don't read the birding books!
     



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  6. dooley

    dooley Super Garden Turtle

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    I sure miss the birds that we had in Texas. I keep watch out toward the woods but there aren't many birds at all out there now. There were some crows that were flying through the area headed south. dooley
     
  7. eileen

    eileen Resident Taxonomist Staff Member Moderator Plants Contributor

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    I've only seen a Blue Footed Booby on a TV documentary. :( The Audubon Society must have a few red faces after telling the woman she was wrong and then finding out she was spot on with her ID.
    We heard recently that a Long Tailed Duck had been seen on a pond near here but by the time we got there it had flown. I would love to have got a picture of it as they are a rarity in this part of Scotland.
    Keep that camera handy as you never know what else may answer your call - maybe an Kakapo or a tuchan. ;)
     
  8. Netty

    Netty Chaotic Gardener Plants Contributor

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    Amazing! I love it when I see new creatures in my neighborhood. Last year we had Snowy Owls, they don't usually come this far south.
     
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  9. Droopy

    Droopy Slug Slaughterer Plants Contributor

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    My, those are very nice birds. The feet are pretty solid, aren't they? I'd love to see them live and up close. I think.
     

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