Rare species visiting Galveston has birders in a tizzy
Texas has the crested caracara, but this pale yellow version from further south is totally different.
By Ariana Garcia,Assistant News EditorDec 19, 2024
Jeff Sexton and other birders found a yellow-headed caracara on Galveston Island on Wednesday.
Jeff Sexton
When Dania Sanchez first got word of a rare neotropical bird visitor at a beach in Seabrook, Texas over the summer, she attempted to catch a glimpse of it herself. After unsuccessfully searching for days, she settled on one day seeing it in its native land. "Every other month, I thought about how I dipped on that bird," Sanchez, who is vice president of the Golden Triangle Audubon Society in Beaumont, told Chron. However, the Texas sightings continued.
On Dec. 6, a bird watcher again spotted the elusive creature, a yellow-headed caracara, on Galveston Island. While Texas and a handful of southern states are home to the crested caracara (aka the Mexican eagle), the yellow-headed caracara is "extremely rare" to find here, Sanchez told Chron. The two are related, with the much smaller, more pale yellow-headed caracara ranging from Costa Rica south to northern Argentina and Uruguay, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Mostly buffy-yellow, the bird has a narrow dark eye line, dark brown upperparts, and dark brown banding on the tail. It also lacks the contrasting black cap, bare facial skin, and dark belly of the crested caracara.
Texas is one of a few southern states where the crested caracara ranges. Unlike the yellow-headed caracara, the crested caracara has a contrasting black cap, bare facial skin, and a dark belly.Dania Sanchez
On Tuesday, the yellow-headed caracara was spotted again by multiple birders near the entrance of Galveston's Dellanera RV Park. Even though Sanchez was looking for birds in West Texas at the time, about 647 miles away from the area, she knew this was her chance. That same day, she traveled southeast and commenced her hunt on Wednesday. "We started looking for it at 7 a.m.," she said, describing a birding search party that ensued. "There was fog until about 8:45 a.m., lots of birders looking. At 9 a.m., I told my fiance if it was a yellow-headed caracara, it would live in that putt-putt miniature golf establishment because it would have water, access to the beach, and palm trees."
Dania Sanchez led a group of birders in finding a yellow-headed caracara in Galveston on Wednesday morning.Dania Sanchez
Around 10:30 a.m., Sanchez finally found the yellow-headed caracara using her binoculars. The bird was indeed at the local miniature golf facility, perched on a parking lot light pole, just as Sanchez suspected. After confirming the sighting, she notified other birders, including Tena Gardiner and Jeff Sexton, so they would also have a chance to see it. "I've never seen so many jubilant adults," Gardiner said, adding the sighting was a "lifer" for her. "This was such a gift!"
Tena Gardiner and other birders spotted a yellow-headed caracara at a miniature golf course in Galveston on Wednesday.Tena Gardiner
It's unknown if the yellow-headed caracara is the same one spotted in Texas in June. Sanchez has submitted the sighting to the Texas Bird Records Committee for review. Notably, this year the American Birding Association recognized the first record of the species in Los Angeles, after the yellow-headed caracara was spotted at various locations in May, including at a Halal Market, Popeyes Chicken, and a Target parking lot. |
