News Update
Habitat loss, land development threaten Florida’s exotic falcon
Daniel J. Torres
Principal
It wasn’t long ago that the unmistakable crested caracara could be seen perched atop the medical complex on Spyglass Court in Melbourne or hopping about in a nearby field.
The crested caracara stands roughly 2-feet tall, with a bright orange face, and black plumage atop its head that would make even the most unabashed wearer of toupees blush. Sadly, however, as more open grassland and cabbage palm habitat is cleared for land development, these sightings have become few and far between. In fact, aside from the occasional trip to the Brevard Zoo, I had gone many years without encountering one of these magnificent birds of prey in the wild.
While officially listed as a “least-concern species” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to relatively common sightings in Texas, and steady numbers throughout South America, the crested caracara is considered a threatened species in Florida, garnering protection under the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Federal Endangered Species Act. Estimates based on genetic analysis place the crested caracara population in Florida at roughly 1,000, though this number could potentially be far lower, as habitat loss and a gradual loss of genetic diversity threaten the long-term viability of its existence in the Sunshine State.
“Nobody knows what’s happening on private land,” said renowned conservation biologist Dr. Joan Morrison, a professor who recently retired from Trinity College in Connecticut, and a crested caracara expert, having worked with these birds for 30 years. “We have no way of evaluating that level of impact. We can keep track of federal changes and state changes to the land, so in some cases the decline is probably worse than we think.”
Once you have a habitat problem, it is very rare that it ever gets reversed. The Florida crested caracara is considered an isolated population, genetically cut off from its counterparts in Texas and Arizona. The Florida crested caracara is a year-round resident— no individuals are coming and going, and so there is no genetic diversity being introduced to bolster the numbers.
A similar problem nearly brought the Florida panther population to the brink of extinction when, in 1995, no more than 30 Florida panthers remained in the wild, and many of those that did suffered from genetic defects as a result of inbreeding. Desperate for a solution, state officials introduced eight female Texas cougars to breed with the remaining males and, while the Florida panther still is listed as an endangered species, the experiment effectively rescued them from extinction.
According to Morrison, however, an animal “gets in trouble with habitat before it gets in trouble with genetics.” The real problem for Florida’s caracaras is habitat loss. Eventually, suitable habitats become completely saturated when every appropriate nesting site available is being used.
Morrison likens it to a fish bowl, one that is “getting smaller and smaller and pretty soon will be so small that they can’t function as a population anymore.” While relocation is typically the only option available, it is not an option for the crested caracara, and it is not always certain what happens after an animal has been moved. Much of the time there is no place for a species to be relocated. More and more crested caracara habitat has been destroyed by development: four of the 21 known nesting pairs in Brevard County have officially been classified as incidentally “taken,” meaning the nest site was removed, by U.S. Fish and Wildlife due to development pressure and, although none of the birds were intentionally harmed, they had been identified as being “in the path of progress.”
The situation only appears to be growing more dire. A 2021 U-Haul study listed the Melbourne-Palm Bay region of Brevard County as the third-fastest growing market in the country, jumping up 20 spots since cracking the U-Haul Growth Index in 2020.
While many birds, such as bald eagles and cooper hawks are thriving — expanding across North America and even into cities and other urban settings, the crested caracara is not going to reside on someone’s roof. While they reproduce well, a housing development is not where they are going to nest and, as habitats radically change into a highly developed, dense urban environment, they will not survive.
So what can we do? As development in Florida expands, is the crested caracara just doomed to extinction? Well, Morrison believes that the solution is “bigger than individual people.”
“People need to be aware of what is going on. Protection of land is the main thing that can be done for many species in Florida.”
Morrison was asked if it was a matter of public education or perhaps a redistribution of funds. “Vote,” Morrison said. “Vote for people who believe in and support protection of habitat.”
According to Morrison, however, an animal “gets in trouble with habitat before it gets in trouble with genetics.” The real problem for Florida’s caracaras is habitat loss. Eventually, suitable habitats become completely saturated when every appropriate nesting site available is being used.
Morrison likens it to a fish bowl, one that is “getting smaller and smaller and pretty soon will be so small that they can’t function as a population anymore.” While relocation is typically the only option available, it is not an option for the crested caracara, and it is not always certain what happens after an animal has been moved. Much of the time there is no place for a species to be relocated. More and more crested caracara habitat has been destroyed by development: four of the 21 known nesting pairs in Brevard County have officially been classified as incidentally “taken,” meaning the nest site was removed, by U.S. Fish and Wildlife due to development pressure and, although none of the birds were intentionally harmed, they had been identified as being “in the path of progress.”
The situation only appears to be growing more dire. A 2021 U-Haul study listed the Melbourne-Palm Bay region of Brevard County as the third-fastest growing market in the country, jumping up 20 spots since cracking the U-Haul Growth Index in 2020.
While many birds, such as bald eagles and cooper hawks are thriving — expanding across North America and even into cities and other urban settings, the crested caracara is not going to reside on someone’s roof. While they reproduce well, a housing development is not where they are going to nest and, as habitats radically change into a highly developed, dense urban environment, they will not survive.
So what can we do? As development in Florida expands, is the crested caracara just doomed to extinction? Well, Morrison believes that the solution is “bigger than individual people.”
“People need to be aware of what is going on. Protection of land is the main thing that can be done for many species in Florida.”
Morrison was asked if it was a matter of public education or perhaps a redistribution of funds. “Vote,” Morrison said. “Vote for people who believe in and support protection of habitat.”