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 shoulder and scanned the field for a deer carcass and found it among the corn stubble near the junction of the 2 roads. I then spotted the Crested Caracara feeding on it! As quickly as I could I stopped the car, grabbed the coat, camera and gloves and managed to get bins on the caracara to verify its ID (dark body, light neck, dark cap was good enough).
I managed to get the Sony a1 + 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens on the Crested Caracara just moments before it took off.
Not having time to check settings I did not realize that my exposure compensation had somehow been bumped to +4 so when the Crested Caracara took off the images were blown out. ISO had been lurking around 320 so images were soft, as well.
Photos were a bit disappointing, but given the distance I was glad that I had managed to get some record shots of the bird as it flew across the field to the trees in the distance.
I ran to nearby cars and asked if folks had seen the bird. They did, but could not relocate it. I ran back to the car to grab the scope and was able to relocate it in a tree along the back of the field. After showing the caracara to several others who had just arrived, I readjusted the scope to find the bird now gone.
It had now flown to a tree behind the white farmhouse on Cochran Rd and was now perched against the main trunk partially obscured. I ran to the other cars to notify them of its new position and headed back to the car to drive around the block to see if I could view the bird WITHOUT having to look into the Sun.
I was moments too slow. As I pulled up to the farmhouse several photographers were already walking to the edge of the woods across the street where the Crested Caracara had now flown. It was on the ground feeding on a carcass set back into the woods.
Luckily, we were able to get eyes on it as it fed about 50 yards into the woods. My fellow photographers, who had been looking for the Crested Caracara for the past 2 hours, wanted to walk into the woods to get a better view, but I discouraged them by explaining that our photography community's PR was already on thin ice. They agreed, and we did the best we could from the roadside.
The road would soon be filled with a dozen vehicle and several dozen birders who were able to see the Crested Caracara through binoculars, spotting scope, and camera lenses (albeit far). After perhaps 15 minutes the Crested Caracara flew off to the trees farther back in the woods to rest and digest its meal. I took the opportunity to hop back into the car and head back home believing that my best looks were had.
As of October 2024 the Michigan Bird Record Committee had only 3 records for the State of Michigan (all in the UP during 2016-17). If accepted this bird would represent Michigan's 4th record for Crested Caracara.
According to Cornell's Birds of the World:
The distinctive Crested Caracara “combines the raptorial instincts of the eagle with the base carrion-feeding habits of the vulture” (1). Called ignoble, miserable, and aggressive, yet also dashing, stately, and noble, this medium-sized raptor, with its bold black-and-white plumage and bright yellow-orange face and legs, is easily recognizable as it perches conspicuously on a high point in the landscape. In flight it can be distinguished by its regular, powerful wing beats as it cruises low across the ground or just above the treetops. Known locally in some areas as the “Mexican buzzard” or "Mexican Eagle," the Crested Caracara is an opportunist and is commonly seen walking about open fields, pastures, and along road edges, feeding on a variety of invertebrate and vertebrate prey, as well as on carrion, often in the company of other avian scavengers. The name “caracara” is said to be of Guarani Indian origin, traro-traro, derived from the unusual rattling vocalization that the bird utters when agitated. It is also known as quebrantahuesos, totache (Mexico), caracara commún (French), carancho, caraira, quelele, or traro (Spanish).
The Crested Caracara is a bird of open habitats, typically grassland, prairie, pastures, or desert with scattered taller trees, shrubs, or cacti in which it nests. Adult pairs are generally monogamous and highly territorial and exhibit strong site fidelity. Young remain with their parents for several months after fledging, and at some sites, two broods are raised per year. Non-breeding caracaras are consistently gregarious and nomadic, often congregating in groups, roosting communally, and regularly feeding with vultures.
The Crested Caracara ranges from the southernmost United States and northern Mexico to Tierra del Fuego, with its range in the United States limited to southern Arizona, southern and central Texas, and southwestern Louisiana plus an isolated population on peninsular Florida. This species was first described in the United States in 1831 by John James Audubon, who collected a specimen near St. Augustine, Florida.
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| Year-Round distribution of Crested Caracara-image courtesy of Cornell BOTW |
Jonathan Meiburg describes the Crested Caracara in his book as A Most Remarkable Creature. Anna Morris provides an elegant review of his book at npr.org.
I'm sure there will be a number of theories regarding this bird's prominence. I can only suspect that the recent, nationwide, winter storm pushed this bird north and and east from wherever it was wandering. Shout-out to Carolina for finding this beauty! #325 for Michigan.
Stakeout Crested Caracara, Olivet (2026), Eaton, Michigan, US
Feb 8, 2026 9:57 AM - 10:23 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.529 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Clear, cold, 4F, calm. Blog post w/ story and photos at: https://birdingthroughglass.blogspot.com/2026/02/eaton-co-crested-caracara-08-feb-2026.html
3 species
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius) 1
Crested Caracara (Caracara plancus) 1 Continuing in field on deer carcasses. Flew to trees then across road to woods where it was seen feeding on the ground on another carcass. Flew deeper into woods. Numerous people viewing. Pics.
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 8
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S298930302
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
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