Guess I should have looked at the photos on my computer and not just my
phone. The one photo I saw, when viewed on my phone, looked rough but
pretty good for caracara. I was also only a little into my first cup of
coffee. Seeing the second photo on my computer and bigger, and with some
other questions posed to me, I'm less sure of ID. Could simply be a
Cooper's Hawk. Need better photos!
Mmmm, crow. Not the first time!
Cheers,
Scott Somershoe
On May 19, 2016, at 10:56 AM, Scott Somershoe <ssomershoe@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
I haven't seen a post yet, but a Crested Caracara was photographed by Dale
Ledford yesterday (18 May 2016) in Gray, TN (Washington Co). Blurry photos
are available and on the TN Birding Facebook page, but the ID is pretty
obvious. Potential first state record.
The bird was not relocated this morning, but more searching will occur.
Here are location details provided by Tom McNeill:
"The location is Old Gray Station Road. Take the Gray Exit off I-26 and
travel toward Tri-Cities Airport. Turn left at the Dairy Queen onto Old
Gray Station Road. Bird was photographed somewhere around Spurgeon
Lane/Crystal Springs subdivision/Red Lane.....near the two large silos."
For those unaware, there have been a bunch of records of Crested Caracara
in the northeast and eastern Canada over the last couple years. I believe
photos of these birds have suggested a couple different individuals. I'd
have to do some digging to confirm that. I'm unsure how records committees
have handled these birds as there are captive caracara and some are kept
for falconry, but the ones photographed were not banded or tagged.
Hopefully it'll be relocated with better photos!
Honestly, it's about time someone found one in Tennessee!
Cheers,
Scott Somershoe
Co-Author of *Birds of Tennessee: A New Annotated Checklist
<http://www.amazon.com/Birds-Tennessee-New-Annotated-Checklist/dp/1507815751/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1453317221&sr=8-3>*
Littleton CO
