Date: 12/8/25 7:50 am From: Shirley Maas via groups.io <dtmsem2006...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Crested Caracara
Thanks Robin.
I’ve been following the Grested Caracara sagaIn NE here in AZ.
Added Fulvous Whistling Duck to my AZ list Saturday. Same saga here. Brought Biirds out of the woodwork.
Don MaasMesa,AZMaricopa County
“If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government then you are doomed to live under the rules of fools. Plato“You can ignore reality, but you cannot ignore the consequences of reality.”
Don & Shirley MaasThe Maas’s have migrated to the Valley of the Sun in Mesa, AZ from Choctaw, Ok for the winter.
On Sunday, December 7, 2025, 10:13 PM, Paul Roisen via groups.io <roisenp1950...> wrote:
Thanks for posting, Robin. We were all totally blessed with so many people seeing the Crested Caracara and also the Mexican Duck. What a beautiful day it was to be out birding. Very excited that you ran into Glenda. She generally birds Grant county and it was awesome that she showed up for this great bird. Especially pleased to see the number of birders out and communicating back and forth passing on information on these to special birds both yesterday and today.
Way to go NE birders.
God Bless.Paul O. RoisenSioux City, IA 51106 Woodbury County, IAMobile 712-301-2817 <roisenp1950...>
On Sun, Dec 7, 2025 at 9:30 PM Robin Harding via groups.io <pine2siskin4...> wrote:
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.
