The Caracara and the Mockingbird

Harryb

Hi y'all,

I was leaving the wetlands when I noticed a Crested Caracara sitting on a powerline.

He was posing all raptor-like


Off to the side was a mockingbird


pretty soon the mockingbird started to buzz the caracara


the poor ole caracara started to get stressed


the mockingbird kept on coming


and coming


then it got to be just too much and the caracara made his escape


here's a closer crop on the last one w/o a powerline in the shot

kdog

Just super, Harry.

-joel.

BrettG

Very nice indeed.

I'm always amazed that the hawks around here are so harassed by the small birds. You'd think the big ones would snap at the little ones eventually, but I haven't seen that happen yet. Usually the hawk just gets sick of it and flies away.

Brooks P

Mockingbirds think they are bigger than they really are
I have seen them harass a cat until the cat flees.

That is a really nice series of photos Harry, what's more they are very nice individually too.

Osprey Whisperer

Interesting series Harry. Too bad that power line decided to pose in the shots. I'm always amazed these types of little birds take aim at the larger more dangerous raptors. I've seen similar behavior from crows chasing my soprey out of trees. WHy don't the raptors just eat the PITAs ? Well done...do like hte tight crop of the car in flight.

Brooks P

Bird Man Photographer wrote:

Interesting series Harry. Too bad that power line decided to pose in the shots. I'm always amazed these types of little birds take aim at the larger more dangerous raptors. I've seen similar behavior from crows chasing my soprey out of trees. WHy don't the raptors just eat the PITAs ? Well done...do like hte tight crop of the car in flight.

I’ve wondered the same thing. I’ve watched a Mockingbird harass a Red-tailed hawk and chase it off, you would think the hawk would just make a snack out of it. I did watch a crow (it might have been a Raven as it was quite large) harass our neighborhood Red-tail, but then the Red-tail apparently tired of the game. As the crow swooped in, the hawk rolled over on its back and almost grabbed the crow. The crow veered away, but the hawk rolled back and went into a dive after the crow. The crow got away and the last I saw of it was as it disappeared into the distance. The red-tail went back to riding the thermal that comes off the slope across the street.

saurora

Brilliant shots, as always Harry. Those mocking birds are a crack-up....what humongous attitudes they have! I guess they usually are attempting to lure away whatever is there to threaten their nests....and they aren't afraid of anything! I had an interesting run-in with a mocking bird and a RTH on Sunday. My photography sucked, but it was an interesting morning with a story to tell and I posted them into a gallery anyway, if you want to check it out....:D

http://saurora.smugmug.com/gallery/1695665/1/83347125

tomthephotographer

I must admit i hade never seen or heard of that bird before. It looks like an gale with a toupe. I have seen those silly mocking birds go as far as to attack cars. When I was a new driver in Greensboro there was one on knoghtbridge road that would smash into your wind shield. over and over again. It was wild. Here we see the Eagles Harrassed by sea guls, kity winks, and other little birds. It is all fun and games toll they piss the eagle off and it kills one of them.

Great Photographs.

Ric Grupe

I think the little guy was making fun of the big guys toupee!!!

Yes.....a mocking bird.

As always, very nice, Harry.

Harryb

kdog wrote:

Just super, Harry.

-joel.

Thanks Joel

Maestro

Wow! How regal and handsome these birds are. I didn't even realize we had Caracaras here in the US. They seem too exotic. Great shots!

Awais Yaqub

Amazing photos as always i never saw a bird like that is this same as eagle or hawk in chracteristics ?

Harryb

BrettG wrote:

Very nice indeed.

I'm always amazed that the hawks around here are so harassed by the small birds. You'd think the big ones would snap at the little ones eventually, but I haven't seen that happen yet. Usually the hawk just gets sick of it and flies away.

Thanks for stopping by Brett. It is amazing to see how easily the raptors can be chased off by the smaller birds. I think they save their aggressive behavior for the hunt. If it ain't about food they usually can't be bothered. One day I saw an osprey that had just caught a fish. It had the fish in its talons and a bunch of grackles kept flying around him. Since his only weapons, his talons, were occupied with the fish he had no option to fly away from the grackles.

jwear

pests dam pests crows ect even the hummer will go after a crow -nice shots good set

bfjr

Well done Harry

X holds up well with heavy crop

Did you know Caracara and Grandkids go well together :lol :lol4

Brooks P

Maestro wrote:

Wow! How regal and handsome these birds are. I didn't even realize we had Caracaras here in the US. They seem too exotic. Great shots!

Actually we don't. Harry has them shipped in so he can photograph them.

dallas

Great series Harry, it's always the little guys isn't it ?

gluwater

Not only did you get the Caracara but you got him in a brawl. Always have to add a little extra don't you Harry. The Caracara is endangered in the US but is the national bird of Mexico. They are also refered to as the Mexican Eagle, although they are actually Falcons, but they eat carion like a vulture. Confused yet?

Harryb

Brooks P wrote:

I have seen them harass a cat until the cat flees.

That is a really nice series of photos Harry, what's more they are very nice individually too.

Thanks Brooks. Its alway great to catch the birds interacting.

Harryb

Bird Man Photographer wrote:

Interesting series Harry. Too bad that power line decided to pose in the shots. I'm always amazed these types of little birds take aim at the larger more dangerous raptors. I've seen similar behavior from crows chasing my soprey out of trees. WHy don't the raptors just eat the PITAs ? Well done...do like hte tight crop of the car in flight.

Thanks Mike. I'm afraid we will have to live with those powerlines. I asked them to move to a tree but they just ignored me.

Harryb

saurora wrote:

Brilliant shots, as always Harry. Those mocking birds are a crack-up....what humongous attitudes they have! I guess they usually are attempting to lure away whatever is there to threaten their nests....and they aren't afraid of anything! I had an interesting run-in with a mocking bird and a RTH on Sunday. My photography sucked, but it was an interesting morning with a story to tell and I posted them into a gallery anyway, if you want to check it out....:D

http://saurora.smugmug.com/gallery/1695665/1/83347125

Thanks Susan. It is amazing how those little birds will stand up to the raptors. That was a very interesting series of shots. Its a shame that mine liked a powerline and yours liked that cyclone fence.

Harryb

tomthephotographer wrote:

I must admit i hade never seen or heard of that bird before. It looks like an gale with a toupe. I have seen those silly mocking birds go as far as to attack cars. When I was a new driver in Greensboro there was one on knoghtbridge road that would smash into your wind shield. over and over again. It was wild. Here we see the Eagles Harrassed by sea guls, kity winks, and other little birds. It is all fun and games toll they piss the eagle off and it kills one of them.

Great Photographs.

Thanks Tom. The caracara just happens to be the nationl bird of Mexico. Here's an excellent article on the bird

http://www.chapala.com/chapala/ojo2002/nationalbird.htm

Harryb

Ric Grupe wrote:

I think the little guy was making fun of the big guys toupee!!!

Yes.....a mocking bird.

As always, very nice, Harry.

:lol

Thanks Ric

John Mueller

Harry,Im not worthy of being in the same forum as you.
Nice set.

Harryb

Maestro wrote:

Wow! How regal and handsome these birds are. I didn't even realize we had Caracaras here in the US. They seem too exotic. Great shots!

Thanks Maestro. The caracaras are pretty much local to Florida, Texas and Louisiana in the US

Harryb

Awais Yaqub wrote:

Amazing photos as always i never saw a bird like that is this same as eagle or hawk in chracteristics ?

Thanks Awais. The caracara is a member of the falcon family and is normally a carrion eater.

Harryb

jwear wrote:

pests dam pests crows ect even the hummer will go after a crow -nice shots good set

Thanks Jeff

Harryb

bfjr wrote:

Well done Harry

X holds up well with heavy crop

Did you know Caracara and Grandkids go well together :lol :lol4

Thanks Ben. The 12 MP lets me do a lot more cropping than I could with my D2H.

Harryb

dallas wrote:

Great series Harry, it's always the little guys isn't it ?

Thaks William. Always a pleasure hearing from ya.

Harryb

gluwater wrote:

Not only did you get the Caracara but you got him in a brawl. Always have to add a little extra don't you Harry. The Caracara is endangered in the US but is the national bird of Mexico. They are also refered to as the Mexican Eagle, although they are actually Falcons, but they eat carion like a vulture. Confused yet?

Thanks Nick. Its that extra something that makes a shot a bit different. The Caracara is an extremely interesting bird and one of my all time favorite subjects.

Harryb

John Mueller wrote:

Harry,Im not worthy of being in the same forum as you.
Nice set.

Thnaks John but that's :bigbs from what I've seen of your latest stuff you don't take a backseat to nobody.