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In Tucson, adventure is never far away. That’s because in the Sonoran Desert, civilization stops abruptly.
The moment you leave town, you’re either about to have an epic wildlife encounter or get a flat tire on a road nobody has driven on in weeks. We aimed for the first. (The second is always implied.)
I’ve been fortunate enough to see some of the desert’s best wildlife. Bobcats pretending I don’t exist. Javelina barreling toward trash cans like the church crowd hitting The Golden Corral on Sundays. And roadrunners, which are 90% attitude and 10% bird.
But one thing I hadn’t seen? The Crested Caracara. A falcon that walks on the ground and nests in a cactus.
I’d seen one at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, but spotting one in the wild was a different story.
A Random Reddit Tip Sent Us Into the Desert
Late-night Reddit scrolling usually leads nowhere productive, but this time, it sent me chasing a bird.
The post showed two photographers parked on a remote dirt road, telephoto lenses locked onto a massive saguaro with an oversized nest wedged inside.
Like all great adventures, this one started with high hopes and questionable directions. The photo showed a jagged peak in the background, which I recognized as Ragged Top. That meant the nest was somewhere between Snyder Hill and Kitt Peak.
Using my advanced navigation skills (AKA staring at Google Earth until my eyes cross), I was 70% sure I had the location.
The saguaros thin out between Tucson and Kitt Peak, so it wasn’t difficult to scan the desert and spot our target. Checking for PROHIBITO EL PASO (no trespassing) signs and seeing none, we pulled onto a utility road and drove along a barbed wire fence until we reached the special cactus.
As we pulled up, we spotted three Crested Caracara chicks in their teenager phase, occupying a large nest inside a giant saguaro that looked like a fully-occupied high rise building.
These falcons don’t act like you’d expect. They stroll around on the ground, bully vultures for food, and snack on roadkill.
We watched from a respectful distance as the parents dropped off rodent-based takeout while the chicks fought over the best shady spot. One pecked at another’s wing like an irritated sibling. Another fluffed its feathers in protest. (Parenting, it seems, is a thankless job even in the bird world.)
Crested caracaras don’t rush to leave home. They stick around for months, learning how to navigate the desert, fight off competitors, and recognize easy meals before striking out on their own.
For now, their biggest concern was getting through the afternoon without getting shoved out of the best shady spot.
And it wasn’t just the caracaras living here. The saguaro was full of tenants. Ash-throated flycatchers darted in and out of the holes. A Gila woodpecker, probably the original builder, trilled its arrival.
What’s Interesting About the Crested Caracara
You can find Crested Caracaras in the southern United States and in Mexico, South America, and Cuba. They prefer open country and thrive in deserts, grasslands, and man-made environments like cattle ranches.
They look like hawks, but they’re part of the falcon family.
Also known as a Mexican Eagle, there’s some debate on the Crested Caracara being the national bird of Mexico. Officially, their national bird is the Golden Eagle. But some think the Aztec artwork on the Mexican flag is actually a Crested Caracara.
Unlike other birds in their family, Crested Caracaras hunt on the ground. They are opportunistic feeders who will dine on just about anything , including carrion.
Their feeding habits make them a helpful bird to have around, as they control rodent populations and clean up roadkill.
Caracaras build their own nests and both sexes share in parenting duties. Their chicks fledge after about three months and stay with their parents for a while to learn how to Caracara before venturing off on their own. They often return to the same nesting sites year over year.
A large bird with a 4-foot wingspan, Crested Caracaras can be aggressive toward other birds, often fighting vultures for carcasses. They also get meals by bullying other birds into dropping food while in flight.
In addition to their interesting hunting tactics, they’re known for intelligence and adaptability. And the combination of falcon and vulture-like behaviors make the Crested Caracara a fun bird to watch.
Where to See a Crested Caracara in Arizona
If you’d like to see a Crested Caracara without traipsing through the desert, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum has a demonstration called the Raptor Free Flight show. It happens six days a week from October through April and regularly showcases Cosmo, their resident Crested Caracara.
During the show, the museum’s raptors fly freely around the property. They’ll land on various perches within feet of you, and you’ll learn about them from knowledgeable docents and bird handlers.
The first time we saw Cosmo, he was young. He took off into the desert surrounding the museum and irritated some Cooper’s Hawks who were nesting nearby. The Cooper’s Hawks chased Cosmo away, and a handler had to walk through the scrub toward Brown Mountain to bring him back.
Cosmo is friendly, curious, and likes humans. He’s been known to land on people watching the Raptor Free Flight show. Or at least brush their heads with his feathers as he swoops by.
I wasn’t able to find information on how Cosmo came to the museum, but most of their animals are rescues. So I imagine Cosmo’s story is similar, and he’s at the museum because he can’t live in the wild.
Arizona Backroads Always Lead to Something Wild
The desert is full of surprises. One minute, you’re following a vague Reddit lead down a dirt road. The next, you’re watching a falcon family run a fully booked cactus high-rise, complete with bickering siblings, overworked parents, and at least one woodpecker wondering how things got so out of hand.
Crested Caracaras aren’t your average falcons. They walk more than they fly, eat whatever’s easiest, and pick fights with vultures like it’s a competitive sport. They’re opportunists in a landscape that doesn’t give second chances.
That’s Arizona for you. This won’t be the last time the desert shows off like this. And we wouldn’t want it any other way.
Still Here? You Must Be the Human Equivalent of Well-Seasoned Cast Iron Pan.
Most people tap out early like tourists who underestimate Arizona heat. But not you. You’re built different. So why not pull up a camping chair with us on Substack?
