...right in my backyard!

First I saw a Northern Crested Caracara sit on a post for at least 20 minutes.

Then a pair of Swallow-tailed Kites literally knocked him off the post and then started soaring very high and effortlessly!

BTW, I had to look up the birds on the internet but it was fun to identify.

Very cool! I've seen Swallow-Tail Kites but never a caracara (had to look that up).

Caracara...ugh, nasty little creatures. They’re protected here in Florida and I don’t know why. Vultures of the south.

Saw a large bird today coming across the lake toward where I was on the shore..

White/ivory head caught my eye at some distance. Thought it might be a bald eagle.

As it neared the shore its dark body and large size confirmed it was the real deal and it banked to follow the follow the shore. It let out that call that I seldom have heard.

Not that rare but a handsome bird.

I usually see swallow tailed kites in the spring and late spring in Houston, but rarely this late. They are cool.

Caracaras aren't common around my part of Houston, but I do see them west of town out on the Katy Prairie. They are actually a falcon, but they do get a large portion of their food from scavenging. It is the "eagle" on the Mexican flag.

Those are cool birds.

While visiting Sierra Vista, AZ and Ft. Huachuca,

We took some fire roads to find a pic nic spot.

That's where we spotted a Trogon, just sitting on a sizable limb.



https://www.allaboutbirds.org/...gant_Trogon/overview

It sat there for 20 min.
Then flew to another tree for 20 min.

We got great visuals through the bino's and scope,
But no pics

We have a few birds in our backyard, but I sorely miss trips to see birds such as all the migratory waterfowl in the Sacramento Valley in the winter.
I’m really going stir-crazy.

I saw a caracara today on my way from Canyon Lake, TX to Matagorda, TX. I see them in the Canyon Lake area every few months so it is still neato to see them since they aren’t so common.

However, I’ve seen both caracaras and white-tailed kites at Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge - still never seen a swallow-tailed kite dagnabbit!

We see the caracaras quite often around here. Mexican eagles.

I’ve seen lots of birds, my favorite is the red head big breasted bed thrasher.

(Sorry I had to do it, lol).
.

I saw a Road Runner run across the highway today. I've never seen one around here before. Doesn't mean we don't have them. I'm not much of a bird watcher.