Jims Crested Caracara Captures

[jfenton]

The first time I met this bird it was thanks to two people..Frank for letting me follow him to the shoe store (he even bit the bullet and dined at Burger King while we were there!) and to ping...as we never would have spotted this creature without Nathans (Pings real name...I dragged it out of him) young eyes....

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He got antsy and FLEW away (Frank looked a bit rough that day)
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That afternoon, I found him (it) on a fence post..

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The next morning....first one and then the other flew into the magical tree where Harry has trained all birds at Vierra to sit..

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Of course...they FLEW away to make sure that they chased Frank out of the state of Florida...

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On the last morning there was no sunrise as it was incredibly foggy. As the fog began to lift, I found these two just after they apparently finished their breakfast!

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The end to my story is that I went back to PAYLESS as I was leaving Vierra (sadly) and one of the birds was in the nest but wouldn't come out. I tried my "seal whisperer" trick but that did no good. Then I had the bright idea of mimicking a screaming osprey....Boy did that ever work! The bird came at me screeching with talons barred and flew over by my at a foot away. I got no shot...but I managed not to trip over my tripod either as I hit the deck

 

[Flew]

Jim,

You had entirely too much fun on this visit to the Sunshine State....

When you consider that this entire session was all your fault, you should be very ashamed.... :wink:

Very nice Caracara series BTW. You did a great job of scouting out birdies where nobody else found any.

Let's do this again real soon.

Regards,

Frank

 

[mike mac]

Awesome Series

Very nice work, I liek the last one the best, it sure was fun hanging out with you even though neither one of us can hear a damn thing! LOL

 

[Gale]

WOW Jim,

Very successful Caracara find. Wonderful images and story.

thanks for sharing.

Gale

 

[jfenton]

Mike...

Could you speak up please?

 

[Steve S]

Wow, these are so cool!

I actually think I like the looks of these birds better than the eagles or the ospreys. And, that story of it swooping down at you.... now, that is FUNNY! Good shots, Jim! btw, where's that tile roof located? Can't be out in the wild! :roll:

 

[jfenton]

The tile roof is the PAYLESS shoe store....

I cropped out the pigeons :lol:

 

[DavidM]

Jim -

Great series. It's safe to say that everyone had a fantastic experience on this trip -- glad you initiated it and hope your wife enjoyed it as well.

That tree should probably now be referred to as "Harry's Tree"...

 

[PhotoDawg]

You know something

That bird looks like it has a toupee on its head. If that bird was in a Disney movie I guarantee he would lose it every time flying around like that. Alright.....I am now attempting the spell check for the first time.

 

[jczinn]

Fantastic shots Jim! I've never seen this bird in Florida, only in Texas...these are great captures.

 

[jfenton]

Thanks Janet

They were one of my favorites....but to be honest, there were so many wonderful birds to shoot, that naming one as a favorite would be a tough thing to do....althougn my green heron series which I haven't posted yet may indeed be my favorite!

 

[greyflash]

Great story, interesting pictures. Thanks for sharing.