Eaton Co. Crested Caracara! - 08 Feb 2026
On 04 Feb 2026 Carolina Sabo reported an unusual hawk feeding on a deer carcass in Eaton County that turned out to be a Crested Caracara ( Caracara plancus )! Word quickly spread and within minutes birders from all over the state were on stakeout. I was getting ready to drive to Traverse City so I would miss the initial excitement. This morning I scanned Discord for the Eaton County Crested Caracara and found that it was still visiting the several deer carcasses in the same vicinity of Cochran Rd. and E. Belleville Rd. Skies were clear, and despite the near 0ºF temperature I decided to drive to Cadillac, MI to look for it. Leaving the house at 8:30 am I would not arrive onsite until just before 10 am. In the meantime there were no reports of the Crested Caracara being seen this morning. As I approached Cochran Rd. from the east I was surprised to see only 1 or 2 cars in the area. A few more cars were driving by slowly so I knew I was in the right vicinity. I pulled over onto the ...
