Probably one of the hardest elements of putting on our annual haunted trail is the aftermath. During the prep and build out I am full of energy and excitement. A whirlwind of ideas, tasks and problem solving all rolled up into a giant orange and black ball. Then the party is just pure fun..well, after dealing with all the late hour gremlins that always find a way to test my wits. On the second night, the last of the guests leave, we power down the haunt and at some point my tired body is reacquainted with the bed. A day of rest usually follows thanks to a mysterious magnetic pull embedded in the very fibers of the pillow – someone should really figure out how to harness that power! Then the post party hangover kicks in. Gone is the pre-event excitement – it is grind time as everything has to be hauled back up into the out-building for drying and then the masterclass sessions of packing and organizing. Fortunately, “grinding” is my superpower which has served me well over the years, work, ultras and the draining work of unplugging everything, disassembling the props and hauling them out of the valley. That part of the work is done now and just waiting out the drying phase (you do NOT want moisture in your storage bins). While that is happening, jumping back into the blog work with today’s featured feathered friend.
Hit the jump to learn more about this interesting Falcon sporting the orange and black colors of the season.
I cannot think of a better Halloween mascot than our featured Falcon. In fact, it is right there in the name, Crested Scare-a-Scara…and what is more haunting than a single Scare-a-Scara…well, TWO Scare-a-Scaras!!!
Okay, I admit I might have altered the name of these crested creatures just a bit. Although I personally feel my name is far superior to their “official” name, the Crested Caracara. If we all pitch in, we might be able to make this a movement – the next time you encounter one of these Falcons declare loudly “Look, a Crested Scare-a-Scara. Be bold, matter of fact without apology and then move on leaving those around you blinking and second guessing their own reality. Imagine their quandary the next time they are out and somebody else does the exact same thing
You know, if one person, just one person does it they may think he’s really sick, and they won’t believe him. And if two people, two people do it—in harmony—they may think they’re noobie birders and they won’t believe either of ’em. And three people do it—three, can you imagine?—three people walking by and calling it a Scare-a-Scara and walking away?—they may think it’s an organization. And can you—can you imagine fifty people a day—I said fifty people a day!—walkin’ by, declaring Scare-a-Scara and walking away. And friends, they may think it’s a movement! And that’s what it is, the Crested Scare-a-Scara Movement, and all you got to do to join is say it the next time you see one. With feeling.
If you are old enough to remember that song you are probably humming that tune in your head right now ha! Better get back to our subjects. These two …say it with me…Scare-a-Scaras were hanging out at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, TX on our trip there back in April 2024. Oops, should probably use the new name although it is much harder to remember – The Jocelyn Nungaray National Refuge.
Linda and I were actually hunting for the resident Burrowing Owl when these two Crested flew in together and landed on their respective fence posts. The shot at the top of the post was of another specimen that was perched on a solar panel – lots of these Raptors hanging out there. Although a common sight on our trips to south Texas, they have a relatively small footprint in the US. Beyond the small area in south/central Texas, there are small scattered pockets in central Florida and along the southern border of Arizona, most of their population prefer Central and South America. According to Cornell, they are sometimes referred to as the Mexican Eagle.
These two Scare-a-Scaras caught my attention mainly due to the specimen on the right that appeared to have some prey in its talons. Up to this point I had not seen one of these birds with a potential “live” catch. In fact, had to do a quick check to see if this was expected behavior or not. These Falcons also have a taste for carrion and typically feeding (well, I was under the impression always) around Vultures. Sure enough, they will eat live food like insects, fish, small mammals etc..and snakes which was my guess as to the victim in this situation. His companion seemed to be trying to clear up the situation.
“Umm dude, you know that isn’t a snake right?”
“Are your hearing me right now, that is definitely not a SNAKE!”
“Are you sure, it looks like a snake to me, long..thin, slithery, beady little eyes, kinda making that hissy noise – maybe you need glasses or your nose has been buried in a carcass to long”
“See, slithery..watch me use my deadly Falcon powers and submit it to my will”
“I am going to say it one more time for the cheap seats – that is NOT a snake you dumbass”
“Now exactly who is the dumbass, me teasing that photographer over there OR the photographer who thinks he is seeing a Scare-a-Scara feed on a live snake and filling up his tin with a bird playing with a piece of twine?”
Wow, these birds are harsh with their insults. Anyway, confirmed, not a snake, but still some nice shots of a bird that likes to hang out in low places with ugly friends. Clearly their variety of food sources – dead and living – allow them to thrive. They have a low conservation status with a global population of around 2.2 million. I was unable to find a US count for them, but did notice on Cornell’s site that Florida’s population is listed as threatened due to their small footprint.
Will call it a post here. Don’t forget, you know your mission – we can do this if we are all willing to commit and shirk off those weird looks during early adoption. In case you are wondering, the (old) name Caracara was given to them by French naturalist Jacques Barraband in the 1700s playing off their Portuguese label “caracará” (link here).
Before I forget, big thanks to Brad who has been keeping you entertained while I was out. Can’t wait for him to come back from assignment and show us all the cool birds and sights he and Jan discovered.
Take care, spook ya’ later!
Wildlife Intrigued 
Beautiful photos of the crested caracara.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Anneli – although they prefer to hang out with the less appealing Vulture, they are a rather pretty bird and always fun to photograph (when their heads are not neck deep in carrion ha). Appreciate you stopping by and hope all is well out your way.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The wind and rain have descended on us here but it’s almost a welcome change after so much drought this spring and summer. I agree with you on the carrion probably being a less than pleasant background (smell) for taking bird photos.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Agreed, we have been watching the weather reports hoping we get a good rain soon – thought we would get some fallout from the Jamaica/Cuba hurricane, but no luck so far. There is always a nose clip in the camera go back ha.
LikeLike
Nice photos, Brian. Always nice when the subject cooperates and acts “normal”. Although I feel bad that it didn’t have a delicious slithering meal. Interesting dialogue too. Was thinking of the Red Skelton routine involving Gertrude and Heathcliffe. When I saw the first pic it made me think of vultures, but a better makeup routine.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Jerry, life is always better when you have a cooperative subject. In hindsight, it is probably best it wasn’t a real snake or Linda would have high-tailed it out of there and left me stranded ha. You are definitely dating yourself with a Red Skelton reference – about the only thing I remember from that show is Killer Diller and the fact none of them could stop laughing at each other. Quite the visual a Vulture putting on makeup hehehe. Take care and thanks for coming by Jerry.
LikeLike
Such a beautiful series! It takes a lot of patience.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Amy – life has enough hurrying in it, always good to take a moment and just watch nature do its thing. Have yourself a great weekend and appreciate you taking the time to drop in and join the conversation.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What cool and beautiful birds! Great captures. Their beaks look really scary. I love the pumpkins. Cleaning up after all the excitement is always tough. You need some of our dry air to dry out your props. Although we got rain last night. The clouds peed on Jake and me on our walk this morning. Jake was trying to compete. I hope he doesn’t end up with leg-hike syndrome from over-hiking his back legs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Tim – reminds me of the college bar scene, you always look better in relationship to who you are hanging out with – in this case I think the Scare-a-Scaras look a lot more attractive because they like to hang out with Vultures. We could definitely use some of that dry air – the rain has moved out, but we are still getting frost warnings at night and feels like those damp winter nights. Leg-hike syndrome made me life – gonna have to drink a lot of water to out pee mother nature – tell Jake to watch those hips, don’t want to get a kink and get his leg stuck in the air ha. As always, appreciate you coming by – guessing you don’t mind the rain down there, it has been pretty dry up here as well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We’ve seen cara caras in South America, but I didn’t know there were some in the US. Maggie
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not a huge population in the US Maggie, but fortunately there are some small pockets where we like to winter down in southern Texas. Guessing by their region maps on Cornell there are plenty of opportunities to see them down in South America. They are a pretty bird, wouldn’t mind having their populations grow here stateside. Be safe on all your travels!
LikeLike
Thanks for sharing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are quite welcome Luisella! Always fun to bring everyone new birds to enjoy. Hope all is well in your part of the world and have a Happy Halloween!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks. Happy Halloween to you too! 🎃
LikeLiked by 1 person
Imposing look birds. Sort of remind me of past managers with not much better to do.
LikeLike
Great shots of these falcons, and I really like the fact that you probably got a mated pair. They mate for life, and hang out quite close together all year long (unlike eagles who go on solitary sojourns in the non-breeding season).
Don’t know where the twine came from… or whether it was actually a bit of tanned leather – but is it possible that the bird was enjoying a little salty flavor (e.g., sweatband, bootlace)?
Love the pumpkin gateway – stellar impact!
Just got home from our fall-colors trip – a few photos coming!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Sam! Based on their behavior, I was guessing they were a couple – the sexes look a like, but being that there was just two of them and they were sticking close together that was my assumption. Good point on the possible salty taste of the “catch”. At first I was concerned that its foot was tangled in it or for some reason had a falconers leash on it, but I don’t think they would use these birds for that. Fortunately, it did come away from the foot so it wasn’t attached in any way. I was commenting to Jerry that we had a child last year that was scared to death to go under that arch which we consider one of our tamest props. In his defense, we did have some of the fog from our industrial fogger coming out of the valley that year so the faces did look a tad more menacing. Can’t wait to see all the trip photos, we are still planning if we want to take a trip over Thanksgiving. I need 10 birds to break 400 this year and would rather get those out of the way so no stress over the holiday season. Brad also just got back from a huge trip afar which will definitely be generating to great future posts. As always, appreciate you coming by and joining the conversation.
LikeLiked by 1 person