Birds of interest along our Texas journey...

We have been seeing this bird alongside the Turkey Vultures not knowing what it was.  A hawk?  A falcon?  What is this bird?  Finally I found it on the putter.  It is a Crested Caracara...a falcon version of a vulture.  The caracara are not fast-flying aerial hunters; but, are scavengers who feed alongside vultures. Their diet is primarily carrion but it will also take reptiles and birds. The voice is a hoarse cackle.  This species has often been referred to as a "Mexican Eagle" and is, in fact, thought to be the bird depicted on the original national emblem and flag of Mexico.  The modern Mexican emblem and flag now show a Golden Eagle.

Buzzards...There are two types.  The Turkey Vulture seen here and the Black Vulture.  The difference between the two is the coloration of their heads.  The Turkey Vulture has red on its head whereas the Black Buzzard has no red and looks as if it has a dark gray hood over its head and neck.
Turkey Vulture...Awkward on their feet, they have a wobbly hop to their walk.  In flight, it uses thermals to move through the air as they flap their wings in a "V" shape then glide.   Lacking a syrinx (the vocal organ of birds) it can only grunt or hiss.  The Turkey Vulture is a scavenger and feeds mostly on carrion.  It finds its food using its keen eyes and sense of smell.  They roost in large groups.  This area of Texas seems to have quite a large number of these birds cleaning up the road kill.

Not a migratory bird,  the White-Tailed Hawk is a common sight in south Texas where it can be seen perched along highways on telephone poles, fence posts, or dead trees. It mainly preys on small mammals, birds, and insects.  It rides the air currents on motionless wings, often soaring to great heights as it hunts for its prey.


The Rio Grande Turkeys are pale and copper colored with buff colored tail tips .  Its body feathers have a green-coppery sheen.  they like the arid

brush lands where they feed on bugs, seeds, nuts and grasses.  We caught these in the corner of a pasture picking their breakfast as they vocally putted along.

Brown & White Pelicans.

There is a big difference between them in color as well as how they fish.  The Brown Pelican will dive for his dinner; whereas, the White Pelican does not dive for its dinner.  Instead, the White Pelican hunts in groups.  The White Pelicans will sit on the water in a semi-circle herding the fish to shore where they then use their large pouches like fish nets submerging their heads to scoop up the fish.  They can destroy a catfish pond overnight.  The White Pelican is a migratory bird sometimes called "snowbirds".  In flight their wing-tips are black.

The Snow Goose is also known as the Blue Goose.  Another migrating bird that travels in large flocks through the Central Flyway across some of the richest farmland in America.  As they travel they feed on grains left behind by combines...rice, wheat, corn, sorghum, and any others encountered.  They will mingle with the Canadian Geese and other birds.






The Sandhill Crane is a tall, gray-bodied, crimson-capped bird.  They are known for their graceful dancing skills.  They stretch their wings, pump their heads, bow, and leap into the air.  They choose their partner based on "the dance" and mate for life.  Defense is spreading their wings to hiss or kick forward.  Look out!  They can be mean birds.

So many different birds to study with some unique quirks.

The Roseate Spoonbill is a large long legged wading bird with pink plumage kin to the Ibis.  They have large flat, spoon-shaped bills and feed by wading through shallow water sweeping their bills back and forth to catch aquatic life.  They must feed many hours each day to prevent starvation all because of the s hape of their beaks.  It is believed that their pink and red colors come from the foods they eat.  Once noted for their plumage to make ladies fans, their population dropped.  Now a protected species their population is on the rebound.















Below the Great-tailed Grackle is one big yapper.  The male is a shiny black while the female is more brown in color.  This is a long legged black bird with piercing yellow eyes who frequent parking lots, lawns, fields, and marsh edges in search for food.  At H-E-B grocery store in Port Lavaca they constantly yap and whistle as they go from vehicle to vehicle looking for crumbs.  One trip to the store there was a pallet of deer corn against the building with the top black with the birds trying to peck the bags full of holes for some corn to eat.  Messy birds for sure!

The Whooping Crane is the tallest North American bird standing up to 5 feet tall with a wing span of 7 1/2 feet.  They are a migratory bird noted for their loud whooping call that can be heard for miles.  This bird is endangered mainly as a result of habitat loss.  They are one of the rarest birds in North America with a population of about 600.  Their diet consists of crustaceans, mollusks, fish, berries, small reptiles, aquatic plants, and field waste grains.  The first unison call of a pair of Whooping Cranes was recorded at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in 1999.

We are enjoying our birding...learning about some birds we don't have on the east coast.  There are lots more of all sizes...but, these are my favorites to date.  Until next time...see you by the campfire.