Bat Falcon Spotted In U.S. For The First Time

A bat falcon was recently spotted in the U.S. for the first time, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced in a post shared on its verified Facebook account Tuesday (February 18).

The unique bird was seen at the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge in South Texas in December and captured in photos shared by the agency.

“Everyone that can catch a glimpse is looking at this bat falcon right now,” the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wrote. “This is the first recorded time that a bat falcon has ever been seen in the U.S.!”

The bat falcon typically weighs 4.8 to 8.6 ounces and breeds in Mexico, as well as Central and South America, the agency said in a Facebook post initially shared in December.

Peter Witt, who took the photos shared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service earlier this week, told KSAT that he went to the refuge with the intention of spotting the bird of prey.

“My wife Joyce Nies and I saw the bat falcon at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge on February 9,” Witt said. “We knew it was the bat falcon when we spotted it since we had seen pictures taken by others and read about the bird online.”

Though the bird was initially spotted in December, it gained attention after photos taken by Witt were shared on social media.

“We could see him fly off from a tree shag perch, skim the lake, grab an insect and return to chow down, then rest a bit and repeat. We watched him for about 20 minutes... a wonderful and unique experience,” Witt said via KSAT.