December Zoom Meeting: “Raptors of Texas”
Dr. C. Craig Farquhar will present Raptors of Texas to members and guests of the Highland Lakes Birding and Wildflower Society (HLBWS). Please note that the business portion of the meeting will begin at 10:00 a.m. and the presentation will begin at 10:30 a.m.
Dr. Farquhar will provide an overview of raptors and their cultural and scientific significance. The word “raptor” is derived from the Latin, raptare, which means “to seize and carry off.” (Source: https://www.britannica.com/animal/bird-of-prey). Dr. Farquhar will share a high-level summary of diurnal raptors, the order Falconiformes, found worldwide. The term “diurnal raptors” refers to those birds that hunt during the daytime for their prey and generally includes hawks, eagles, vultures and falcons. Then Dr. Farquhar will home in on the raptors found in Texas, what they look like and where they can be found.
Dr. Farquhar is raptor ecologist, conservation biologist, and illustrator, having retired from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) in 2018. During his tenure with TPWD, Dr. Farquhar managed a federal endangered species grant program, conducted original research on Black-capped Vireos, and served as Chair of the Golden-cheeked Warbler Recovery Team. He continues to serve as scientific advisor for both species, and as vice chair for the Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Plan’s Scientific Advisory Committee. Dr. Farquhar holds a Master of Science degree in Vertebrate Ecology from the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he studied the winter ecology of American Kestrels. He earned a PhD in Raptor Ecology and Wildlife Biology from Texas A&M University, having researched the ecology and behavior of White-tailed Hawks. Dr. Farquhar held a Frank M. Chapman postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Ornithology at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, to study the ecology and systematics of Variable Hawks in the High Andes of South America. He currently teaches Raptor Ecology and Ecology of Rarity at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, and has taught many courses in biology and ecology at the University of Texas at Austin. He and co-author Dr. Clint Boal have a book in press on the natural history of Texas’ diurnal birds of prey, titled Raptors of Texas, that is due to be published in spring, 2022.
