Date: 12/7/25 7:30 pm From: Robin Harding via groups.io <pine2siskin4...> Subject: [NEBirds] Crested Caracara
Nebraska birders,
Call me DAMN lucky. I don’t usually chase rare birds, especially long
distances. I just couldn’t resist this time. I drove from Shelton to the
west end of Lake McConaughy on Sunday, December 07 to look for the Crested
Caracara. When I arrived at Road 207 and highway 92, I saw a Jeep parked
on the road and a gal walking. This looked like a good place to start.
I didn’t recognize the gal at first but soon realized that we had met at
the NOU meeting in Ogallala just a few months ago. She and her husband
ranch in Grant County. Glenda had seen the Caracara fly over more than an
hour before but didn’t get a good look. We scanned the sky and the
fields. We drove south across the railroad tracks. We saw Bald Eagles,
swans, geese, ducks, Rock Pigeons and blackbirds.
We walked back to the railroad tracks and saw a dark blob out in the mowed
field to the east of the road and north of the tracks. I’m not really good
at estimating distances but the blob appeared to be about 1/3 of a mile
away. With our binoculars, we could see a bird with a dark brown back and
white tail. It looked like it was eating carrion. When it lifted its
head, we saw its black cap and white neck. I ran back to the car to get
the scope, thinking all the way that the bird would certainly fly away
before I got back.
As luck would have it, the bird stayed, continuing to eat the carrion.
With the scope, we could positively identify the bird as the Crested
Caracara. Its legs were long and yellow. Its beak was bluish-gray and
large. Its face was pink. The white on its neck went all the way up to
the bottom of its cap. The white blended in with the brown on its back and
belly. We watched it for almost thirty minutes. I went back to the car to
get my phone and send an email. Glenda watched the bird and then started
an ebird list on her phone. When she looked up again, the bird was gone.
Which way did it go?
We stayed for an hour, hoping the bird would come back. While we were
waiting, other people who were looking for the bird stopped to visit. A
friend called me to report that he had seen the bird just before us, about
two miles to the west along Road 205. Apparently, this bird has been
moving around in this area. It’s a magnificent bird! I hope you get to
see it.
