I've lost track of how many times I went to Balmorhea hoping to add Crested Caracara to my Reeves County list. The species was seen and photographed at the lake there in December of 2023 and into January 2024. Then again this past December. I kept trying, but never did see them. I've seen many caracaras, so I don't know why it mattered to have one more species added to my county list, but, for whatever esoteric reason, I cared. A fun challenge of a species rare for the county, I guess.
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| Only photo I know of showing the pair together |
By this morning, I'd almost forgotten my quest for them, as I enjoyed lovely weather birding at Balmorhea State Park. Last time I was birding Balmorhea I did the park last, so decided to start there today. Early mornings are the best time for birding.
After a couple of hours of fun, I decided to go to the lake and look for the caracaras once again. Plus something else exciting might show up. As I was driving out of the park, headed toward the town of Balmorhea, my daughter called. I slowed to a crawl and drove along the shoulder while we talked. Just as we were about through, I couldn't believe my eyes. There, perched about 100-150 or so feet from the highway, in a field, was a pair of caracaras. I don't know if I would have seen them had I been driving faster and paying more attention to traffic. They were the last thing on my mind, at the time.
I turned around and went back to the park. Didn't feel like going to the lake after that. I was so excited, I figured I'd just check out the park one more time, then head back to Alpine.
Back at the park, I saw a few different species for the day, including this Hooded Merganser. Always a nice find! A great morning!
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