Recently, I went looking for Aplomado Falcons in their usual haunts but ended up seeing a few other choice birds instead. The fact that I missed the falcons shows how rare this species really is. However, whenever you go looking for falcons or other wildlife in South Texas, you always end up seeing something good. One of the raptors I saw was a Harris Hawk.
The Harris Hawk is a fairly common sight in South Texas.
This beautiful hawk hunts for small mammals, birds, and reptiles in open habitats of southern Texas. It also occurs in southern Arizona. Although I didn’t see the Harris Hawk catch anything, I did get fantastic looks at a White-tailed Hawk that caught a snake.
A White-tailed Hawk with its prey.
This is a common raptor of the coastal prairies in southeastern Texas but I don’t often see them with a snake in their talons.
A White-tailed Hawk readies itself to take flight.
Snakes are an important food source for many animals.
If you can identify this snake, please let readers know in the comments!
Meanwhile, over at a pond in Laguna Vista, I got the chance to watch a beautiful male Hooded Merganser as it caught and ate a small fish.
The Hooded Merganser is a beautiful little, fish eating duck.
- Here it is with its catch. I think it’s a Perch.
Down the gullet it went.
I also had a female Vermilion Flycatcher at that pond. Maybe I will post an image of it in my next post.