Vultures at Sunrise
©Bert Gildart: I’ve reported before on some of the more repulsive traits of the turkey vulture, but today, I want to say that at times the species can appear magisterial, wise and aloof.
For over an hour the vultures preened and dried their wings. Sinister in appearance the wire added to the thought.
For the next few days we’ll be camped along the Salt River, a river that derives part of its water from the Rio Verde and that flows through Tonto National Forest. Early this morning, while on an early morning “bird walk, Janie and I saw this group, which was part of a smaller flock of about a dozen. They had flown in from their patrols overhead, choosing an old fence loaded with barbed wire for a spot at which to roost. At times they stretched out their wings presumably to dry them off. Other times they preened, and they reminded us of vultures and other birds we had seen in Florida.
Three Wise old men
Quickly I ran back for my camera and tripod, mounting an 840mm lens to my Nikon7000. Because the magnification is so extreme I used the mirror lock up to reduce all vibration – and this posting represents an edit I made from over 50 images taken during a two hour periods.
Vultures are fascinating and perform the valuable function of cleaning the landscape. We’ll be camped here at Tonto for the next few days, and I hope to photograph the group some more.
——————————————————————————–
AIRSTREAM TRAVELS FOUR YEARS AGO:
ADS FROM AMAZON AND GOOGLE AUGMENT OUR TRAVELS:
