Crested Caracara in the Cactus

Day 2 at the Laguna Seca Ranch was a bit abbreviated as we had to leave early afternoon to meet up with the rest of our group near Corpus Christi, about 3 hours away.  We spent the morning with the Raptors, and were completely entertained by the Harris Hawks and Caracaras.  While the Harris hawks dominate, the Caracaras out-number.  

"The Crested Caracara looks like a hawk with its sharp beak and talons, behaves like a vulture, and is technically a large tropical black-and-white falcon.  It is a bird of open country and reaches only a few states in the southern U.S, southern Arizona, Texas and Florida."

The Laguna Seca Ranch is only about 30 miles from the Mexico/US border.  We experienced a border patrol check as we drove north towards Corpus Christi.  Apparently this is routine on all north-south routes in Texas.  All vehicles are pulled over into an "inspection station" and evaluated by the agents.  They merely asked if we were American Citizens and then waved us on.  I never knew this was a longstanding practice. 

We had a very happy reunion when we met up with our leader and two others from our S. Africa trip just north of Corpus Christi, one of whom you know very well, dbifulco. 

Backblipped 2-19-2025
I am doing a recap of our fabulous trip.