Back in Tucson

Crested Caracara nest on the outskirts of Tucson

Caty and I finished up our southwest adventure back in Tucson, which had transitioned from balmy to hot. We had the first 100°F day of the year. That crimps your style just a little.

Of course, the first thing we did was go looking for the Crested Caracara nest we heard about while we were in Madera Canyon. And, with actual coordinates, it was so easy to find: a little bit southwest of town, right by a major highway, but with a dirt access road bordered by a barbed wire fence. Finding the particular cactus was easy.

Lone (almost) saguaro

There were only a handful of saguaros in the field and the mama and baby Caracaras were in the most prominent one. Dad was standing guard at another saguaro in the distance.

Caracara family

When we arrived, we were the only people there, so we had some quality time with the Caracara family, which seemed to be as unhappy about the hot weather as we were. On our first visit, we just witnessed a panting mama sitting in the nest with her two prehistoric-looking babies while she vigorously flicked away flies.

Mama and chicks

But, we went back two other times (late Sunday afternoon and early Monday morning) and were able to see all kinds of things:

Flying

Posing

Hopping ...

... from one saguaro arm to another

Mom arriving with a scrumptious lizard …

… waiting awhile with it in her mouth and …

… ultimately deciding to eat on a distant bush it rather than share it with the kids

More flying

More posing

Arriving with another lizard …

... and, this time, feeding it to the chicks

Mom didn't do all the feeding; Dad brought in something – most likely roadkill – and fed it to the demanding youngsters …

Yum!

On our other visits, there were other photographers there. Apparently these Caracara have been nesting here for a number of years.

Caracara watching is a popular Tucson sport

A local woman posted this sign

One guy was agitated, complaining about how too many photographers were stressing the birds. But, there weren't many photographers and the Caracaras didn’t seem particularly stressed.

Just when I was getting annoyed at his hypocrisy of being there when he thought being there was bad, he put his money where his mouth was and left. Good for him.

I have written about Crested Caracaras before, but I didn’t talk much about chick-rearing.

Unlike many other Falcons (yes, Caracaras are cousins to Kestrels and Peregrines), Crested Caracaras are not cavity nesters, instead building stick nests in the tallest tree, cactus, shrub or other structure around. Both parents generally spend two to four weeks collecting stems, twigs and vines that they weave into a bulky nest with a shallow bowl. Initially, the nest is about two feet across, but, because Caracaras refurbish and reuse nests year-over-year, they tend to grow much larger.

Huge nest

The breeding season for Crested Caracaras is from January to March and the usual clutch is two or four cinnamon-colored spotted eggs. Incubation is about 32 days, after which down-covered virtually helpless babies hatch.

Eggs: Birds, Backyards & Beyond; Chicks: Archbold Biological Station

The young do not leave the nest until they are at least eight weeks old. 

Almost ready to fledge

Then, the family stays together for at least three more months as the offspring hone their hunting skills.

Caracaras tend to be quiet; we never heard the adults talking to each other or the chicks begging. But, they can make a cackling, rattling sound. To intimidate nest intruders, they may clack their beaks or break off dry twigs to make a snapping sound.

Protecting the nest

The Crested Caracara lives primarily in Central and South America with pockets in southern Arizona, Texas and the Gulf states. It seems that I’ve seen more and more each time I go south. I don’t know if population is growing or if I am just more aware. On this trip, however, we saw just these four plus one more that flew by while we were watching the nest.

We saw a total of five

We also had a few other sightings as we were watching the Caracaras.

Harris’s Hawk fly-over

Cactus Wren, Northern Flicker and Ash-throated Flycatcher

Western Whiptail Lizard

Common Side-blotched Lizard

Lots of desert Ants

Across the street was what is called a crested saguaro, which is topped by a fan-like form rather than the typical rounded top. 

A unique top

Crested saguaros are somewhat rare, but more than 25 have been found within the boundaries of Saguaro National Park, with additional ones in the surrounding desert (like this one).

Biologists disagree as to why some saguaros grow in this unusual form. 

Some speculate that it is a genetic mutation. Others say it is the result of a lightning strike or freeze damage.

We had hoped a Crested Caracara would land on the crested saguaro (one of the photographers we met watching the Caracara had seen that happen a few days earlier). That would have been poetic.

PhotoShop to the rescue!

One of my goals for this trip was to see an Owl nesting in saguaro. I didn't expect Caracaras, but they were just as cool. 

Still, not to worry: just a few miles up the highway from the nesting site is a Great Horned Owl nesting in a giant cluster of saguaros.

 Double score!

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

We also decided to visit one of Tucson’s premier attractions, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (ASDM), a 98-acre zoo, aquarium, botanical garden, natural history museum and art gallery all wrapped into one. 

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum vista

I have loved this place since we lived in Phoenix in the 1980s. It was a great place to take the kids (in the winter!). So, we thought it would be a nice way to spend the morning before Caty had to fly back to Colorado.

Caty at ASDM in 1987

Founded in 1952, ASDM has two miles of paths that wind through gorgeous desert landscape featuring 56,000 plants representing 1,200 plant varieties.

Violet prickly pear and saguaro blossoms

The zoo/aquarium/serpentarium houses more than 230 animal species (including lots of bugs), all indigenous to the Sonoran Desert. This desert stretches from southern Arizona and California through the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California and Baja California Sur. 

In addition to the captive animals – most of which were sleeping in the heat – the ASDM provides shelter for a number of interlopers. I prefer to photograph only wild animals, so that was kind of neat. We saw a variety of critters (I think more wild than captive).

Lincoln's Sparrow

Cactus Wren

A Packrat in the Aviary

Arizona Sister Butterfly

Spiny-tailed Iguanas both along the walkways …

… and inside the Black Bear enclosure (we didn’t see the Bear)

A Harris's Ground Squirrel

… with a fly on its head

Rock Squirrel

A Great Horned Owl with a nest above the Mountain Lion exhibit (we didn’t see the Mountain Lion)

Clark’s Spiny Lizard

We sought some relief from the heat by attending a herpetology program featuring a Gila Monster and a Black Rattlesnake, both of which were in full possession of their venom.

Two venomous local inhabitants

The two women who presented the program handled the potentially dangerous critters expertly and covered facts and myths surrounding these desert dwellers. I learned, for example, that antivenom costs about $5,000 a vial and normal treatment can use 10-20 vials (do the math!). They also said (and I don’t know if this is true) that insurance won’t cover it if you were drunk when you were bitten. True or not, it’s funny.

I had hoped to see one of the Museum’s famous Birds of Prey in Flight sessions, but they are offered only from mid-October through mid-April. The birds (only birds native to the Sonoran Desert) fly completely untethered, without jesses and most often without leg rings. 

Flying Harris's Hawk; Photo: ASDM

But, the reptiles were interesting (and the theater was cool).

It was pleasant to just amble about through the stunning gardens. I wish more of the animals had been active. 

Desert Bighorn Sheep and sleeping Bobcat

But, it was 102°F. I don't blame them for hiding or sleeping.

Saguaro National Park Again

We had taco salad in the Museum’s nice little restaurant and then headed out for one more adventure – a stop at the Tucson Mountain Unit of Saguaro National Park.

A pretty day in the desert

As I said earlier, I don’t think this western unit is as pretty as the Rincon Mountain Unit to the east, but it did sport quite a bit more cactus blossoms on this visit. Maybe it was a difference in altitude or maybe it was just a few more days into the blooming season. It was lovely.

Some look like googly-eyed creatures

We stopped in the Red Hills Visitor Center …

Beautiful Arizona architecture

… which is designed to turn desert sunlight into art ...

Incredible shadows

We tried to watch the 15-minute-long video program called Voices of the Desert, which is billed as giving a “Native American perspective of the Sonoran Desert.” It was dreadful. I really wanted to learn more about the desert. This piece of schlock repeated over and over (and over and over) just a few platitudes about the indigenous peoples' relationship with the land. The sentiment was good; delivery was poor. We ducked out and drove the scenic loop road.

The real thing

We saw lots of pretty flowers, but not many birds and animals. It was too hot.

Nature

I had hoped to take Caty to Sweetwater Wetlands, but we decided midday was not the best time. Originally, we had planned to go Sunday evening or early Monday morning, but that’s when we had done our second and third visits to the Caracara nest.

Worth the visit!

After I dropped Caty off at the airport, I drove to Willcox, Arizona, for the night so that I could get an early start at Chiricahua National Monument.

I’ll cover Chiricahua in my next post

Trip date: April 24-May 3, 2023