Turkey Vultures Flying Free

[best appreciated at full size against black]

Dedicated to my Flickr friend, Joe the Phographer, who keeps insisting that I take pictures of birds in flight! :D These don't fill the frame but I hope they count, buddy! :D

Yesterday Steve and I did our yearly burn, where we gather up all of our grass clippings, and at least one of the brush piles that I made while cleaning up our property. After the fire dwindles, one of us needs to stay outside near the embers to keep an eye on it. I enjoy the chance to wander around, take pictures, listen to the birds, and watch our dogs playing. At one point I noticed a trio of Turkey Vultures flying around on the thermals above me, and took a bunch of pictures.

Turkey Vultures are found all over North and South America, from Canada to the southern tip of Chile. They are scavengers and eat carrion exclusively, using their keey eyesight and sense of smell to find their prey. This bird has no ability to sing and call like other birds, and can only grunt or hiss! Turkey vultures raise a pair of chicks in the months between March and August depending on latitude (Here they raise babies betwen March and June).

Last year I wrote a picture essay about our yearly burn which you might enjoy reading! Here's the link!
Burn, Baby Burn

If you would like to know more about Turkey Vultures, Wiki has an extensive page here: Wiki: Turkey Vulture {Cathartes aura}