The third time’s a charm! Three times I had looked for Crested Caracaras (Cornell University link) in Florida farm country (yes … farm country actually exists inland from the two coasts). I failed in my first two attempts, but found three Caracaras this morning. The Crested Caracara became one of my favorite birds during a self-supported bike tour in Texas a few years back. I had never seen one, and was hooked immediately.

This individual was extremely cooperative. It sat on the same pole for almost an hour, giving me time to mail something at the local post office, come back to watch this take-off. While this bird looks like a hawk or eagle, it is actually a tropical black-and-white falcon. The bird telegraphed its take-off … stretching its head to get a better look at something before going airborne.

And a few more Crested Caracara pics …

I did my birding near the small town of Felda, Florida. While I can not guarantee you will find anything on Church Road, apparently this is considered a nice birding location just east of Fort Myers. (Google Maps link)