Christmas (or other seasonal holiday event you happen to celebrate) cheers to everyone. Hopefully you are getting everything wrapped up for the year and guessing those that are not already retired will likely be getting a temporary break from the corporate grind. We have one more family event left and our own Christmas celebration before calling it a year and heading to warmer places. Admittedly, it hasn’t been that bad this winter. Today is the coldest it has been in a while (15F) which is nothing for us here in the Midwest. I’ve been working hard in getting the January Texas pictures processed adding a lot of new content for the blog queue. With the recent drop of new adventures from Brad, we are looking good for entertaining content well into next year. My last post on the Mangrove (Yellow) Warbler (link here) had some pretty soft images thanks to the dense habitat. Cannot use that excuse today as we had a clean shot at today’s Featured Feathered Friends.
Problem was the “distance”! It isn’t often that The Beast falls short on the reach, but this is one of those times I could have used bigger glass. For some reason I didn’t think of putting the 1.4 tele on – doubt that would have help much with the combination of horizontal distance along with the vertical elevation of the massive cell phone tower.
Hit the jump and I’ll bring you in a bit closer so you can see these rather rare Falcons.
Major crop zooming here, so you are going to lose a lot of the detail
There, now you can tell it is a bird..actually TWO birds. At first look, fellow birders may ID them as American Kestrels with their colorful feathering and facial stripes. These, however, are Aplomado Falcons. Although much larger than Kestrels, they are only average sized from a Falcon perspective. The biggest difference between the two species is the range. Kestrels have all of North and Central America range covered along with a large swath of South America. In contrast, the Aplomado only ranges between southern Texas and parts of Central/South America.
The current Texas population is in large part due to conservation efforts. According to Cornell, the Peregrine Fund released over 1,500 Aplomados into the Texas ecosystem. Mixed success with breeding pairs, however, the populations along the Gulf Coast and RGV area are faring better. To put it in perspective, the global population is in the 200K range. American Bird Conservancy puts the total number of those residing in the US at 100! You are technically looking at 2% of that entire population right here.
This may be why these two were so paranoid. From their high perch they were busy keeping watch in ALL directions. Like good sentries it seemed like heads were on swivels working in tandem. This series starts out both looking forward and ends up with both of them looking backwards. In between they made sure every direction was adequately covered without losing sight of oncoming threats or those coming up from their 6. Maybe paranoid isn’t the best description as these Falcons are lethal killers.
I feel bad for any bird and/or insect that dared entered their 360 degree kill zone. We let fellow birders, Nan and Curtis, who we met earlier on the trip (I think at Estero Llano Grande SP, but possibly Santa Ana NWR) know we had found them. They responded later with a picture confirming they were able to locate them along with a picture of one feasting on a Common Gallinule – which is as big if not bigger than these Falcons. Deadly I tell ya’ ha!
So now you are probably wondering, which of the nearly 210,000 macrocell towers did you find these two sitting watch (yes, I looked it up, there were 209,470 macro towers at end of 2022, which seems really low to me – link here). To be honest, it was a bit of luck as that was not where we started looking. There is a designated Aplomado Viewing Area in Cameron County on TX 100 just outside of Port Isabel (link here). Near South Padre Island if that is a more familiar reference. There is a small pull off on the south side of that road giving a view to a nest box rather far out into the field. In the several previous visits, that platform was either empty or the heat foils coming off the field were so bad, whatever was sitting on them just looked like a ghostly shimmer.
Linda, Ron and I decided to try our luck during our January trip. Pulled into the parking area, eagerly jumped out, brought the cameras on target and …nothing. Well, there was a Northern Mockingbird that was pretty much “mocking” our fruitless attempt as if that bird has anything better to do. While Ron was hurling insults back at the Mock, I looked behind us at the nearby cell tower. I always look there whenever we drive by, thinking it would be a great perch for sky predators. Took a few shots, checked the camera, took a few more shots, checked the camera again making heavy use of the LCD zoom, took some more shots, waved to some of the curious people driving by, took some more pictures, a few more checks at the back of the camera, got Linda’s attention in the car and quietly pointed to the tower with a thumbs up, took a few more shots, checked the phone to see if I had gotten any messages while resting the arms….then heard Ron mention he couldn’t find any Falcons.
Oh, that’s because I’ve been staring them on that cell tower over there. ”WHAT!?!” Sorry, slipped my mind. Ah, the nuances of competitive birding with your brother hehehe. Before any disparaging comments are made, I did NOT violate rule 12 of our Competitive Birding Rules of Engagement (link here). I feel an addendum quickly coming regarding the requirement to “notify” your birding companions hehehe.
Just a few interesting facts about the Aplomado before letting you go. The US population (and I think Mexico’s) is listed as endangered which isn’t surprising with their low number. They are equally adept at hunting in the air (other birds/insects) and the ground (lizards/rodents). Cornell mentions they are often seen in pairs (confirmed) and cooperatively hunt with one flushing while the other gives it a Falcon talon handshake.
I must say, a pretty cool bird that is right up there with the Bat Falcon (link here). Super stoked to get this checked off the life list and also happy Linda, oh and Ron were able to witness it as well ha. Take care everyone and be safe if you are traveling for the holidays.
Wildlife Intrigued 
Nice Brian. A 2.0 TC should be in your future. And I’m not sure Rule 12 applies to siblings, with or without an addendum. If they aren’t sporting the latest Intrigued wear, rules don’t apply.
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It takes a lot for me to break out the tele I have as I can really tell the softness it causes even with the leeway I have with the end to end f4 on The Beast. Remember, the rules came about because of “brothers” ha. Now the apparel caveats, that is intriguing!
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I see what you did there. “Intrigue”ing . . .
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My heart may be full of unwashed socks, and my soul full of gunk, but I do have ‘clever’ going for me hehehe.
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Those Kestrels are enjoying those towers. There were a pair of Osprey nesting in an electrical substation across the river from us. I haven’t seen the feathered Osprey in a while. I see quite of few of the military Osprey.
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If I remember correctly, those non-feathered Ospreys are beasts in their own right. Maybe not as nimble, but probably have slightly more torque. Thanks for dropping in Tim!
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Wow, now that’s very cool !!!! Congrats on this 👍👍👍
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Thank you Ted. Kind of glossed over it in the post, but I’ve been searching for that Falcon for several years on our multiple trips to the Gulf Coast/RGV area. Incredibly happy I was able to finally get something in the tin to show everyone. The way I see it, my brother owes me big time hehehe. Thanks for dropping in.
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Be sure to remind him too (a few times).
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Well, isn’t that what brother’s do hehehe
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Incredible photo!
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Glad you enjoyed Michele! You search and search and search and finally the stars align. Appreciate you dropping in and have a wonderful and safe weekend.
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Your search paid off! Onto the next discovery…
You’re welcome and thank you. You do the same. 🙏🏻
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Thanks for sharing. Happy Holidays!
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Happy holidays to you as well Luisella. Glad you enjoyed the Falcons, they were truly a wonder to behold.
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Whoo-boy, thanks for the location, it’s now firmly on our list for our January trip. These are very handsome birds. Side-by-side, the Kestrel and this falcon look very different, but you are correct, I would have screwed up that ID on first glance, for sure!
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You are quite welcome Sam! They definitely have that Peregrine crossed with a Kestrel vibe to them. Admittedly, they were smaller than what I was originally looking for. Fingers crossed they are still hanging out there when you get down there. There are a couple of other options if that strikes out, but that happens to be the only place we were able to successfully tin them. As always, appreciate you coming by.
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Outstanding find! You found 2% of their population and you may be part of 2% of birders who have laid eyes on these magnficent falcons. (No, not a researched number.)
Hope your Christmas is Merry and your New Year Happy!
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Ha, I bet you are right Wally, didn’t think to look at it that way. I firmly believe that hunches are better than most of the in depth research that is flooding the media these days. Merry Christmas and happy New Year to you and Gini as well. Stay safe during any extra travels you might be doing this holiday season.
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Good looking birds, Brian. Very distinctive head markings.
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Thank you! Those markings initially took me down the Kestrel path, but on closer look you could see the more sleek and powerful bodies of the Falcons. Appreciate you coming by and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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Very nice. It’s always amazing where birds can be found. Any port in a storm?
And……“All I want for Christmas is an 800mm lens with a 1.4 TC. Please Santa!”
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You have to be a really good boy to get THAT for Christmas!! Linda said not a chance so that tells you how my year went ha. Take care and if Santa shows up with that, can I borrow it on the weekends!?!
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Very nice B, there’s another new bird I’ve never heard of!
Tele converters are ok but you have to use some very fast shutter speed to counteract any slight movement and you lose a lot of appeture.
Have a great holiday. Just back from a few days in Berlin, blog to follow soon.
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Finally, I can return the experience for all the new birds you have shown me over the years! I am lucky that The Beast is end to end f/4 which gives me a little bit of leeway on the light drop. You are definitely right, I can definitely notice the softness whenever I put it on and resist like hell to do it, but unfortunately, sometimes I just need the reach to really get anything in the tin (originally bought that tele for our Yellowstone NP trips where you really scratching for every inch you claw closer to the animals. Assuming you got to spend time with the Lemming – looking forward to getting caught up on your trip. Right now, I am scrambling to get gifts for Linda and the boys
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Those are so cool looking and great eye sight for you to see them way up there. I probably would have missed that. Merry Christmas to you both, This is the time of year I put all of this years photo on an external card and start fresh for next years adventures. 🙂
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Thank you Sandra! One of those things where you look at something every time you go by (this case the cell tower) and then get totally shocked when you do finally see something up there. Another reminder to myself to just keep looking. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours as well Sandra. This past week I’ve been trying my best to get caught up with processing all of this year’s pictures – just got done with our January trip to Texas…don’t think I am going to get through the rest of the year before the next one starts – oh well, another year behind ha. We will be doing a similar clear of our birding spreadsheet at the turn of the year – clearing it all out and resetting the counter. Thanks for dropping in and safe travels!
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Merry Christmas to you both as well. ☺️
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Beautiful!!!
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Found you in the spam folder again Donna – apologies for the delay in responding – I’m going to make the spam folder check a daily task now as this is happening to several of my followers now. Hoping to get completely migrated to my new beast of a computer in the coming days – a bit of luck and this issue may resolve itself after I do that (unfortunately, doubtful as there doesn’t seem to be rhyme or reason this is happening. Thanks for dropping by and have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year! (apologies again)
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No worries, I seem to have issues with several blogs with comments not loading and going to spam. I quit worrying about it, lol, figure some day some will discover my comments and probably others. Many people don’t realize to check their pending or spam folders unfortunately. I check mine daily, find one every few days needing approval. Don’t know why, ugh, WISH WISH WP would straighten this out.
A very merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours too, thank you!
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I try to check my pending and spam queues regularly these days. I will say the real spam has fallen off significantly. Not sure what WordPress did, but the Russian (.ru) barrage I was getting hit with subsided about a month ago.
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