Yesterday was yet another one of those days when the pre-dawn weather satellite showed no clouds at or near my shooting destination but when I arrived there about 2 hours later it was completely socked in with them. So I spent much of the morning looking for birds in unexpected lousy light.
One of the few breaks I got all morning was spotting a couple of Turkey Vultures perched close to each other on an old fence during a brief window of time when the clouds had thinned just enough to give me some slightly better filtered light.
1/800, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Eventually both of the vultures took off but at different times and they both preceded their launch with a slow and languorous stretch. During much of the stretch this one’s bill was partially hidden behind the corner of the post and I didn’t have very good eye contact but for a few frames the bird lifted its head so its bill was clear of the post. I think it’s an interesting pose and the light is acceptable.
I still had my teleconverter on when this one took off so I was a little too close optically to get any flight shots I liked. Its angle of takeoff was also less than ideal.
1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II US, not baited, set up or called in
The second vulture was perched on a post that was behind part of the fence wire so those stretching shots didn’t work out either but by the time it took off I’d removed my teleconverter so I wasn’t too close and I liked its takeoff angle much better.
The fence isn’t pretty but I do think it adds some interesting visual elements as the vulture tries to clear it in flight (the first vulture had been perched on the post at the corner of the frame on the far right).
1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II US, not baited, set up or called in
I like the flight posture and the clean, out-of-focus background after it cleared the fence (even though the head is less than tack sharp).
1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II US, not baited, set up or called in
In this last shot I dang near clipped the left wing. I could easily add canvas up there to improve the composition but chose not to.
Despite the mostly poor light and relatively few high quality photos it was an interesting morning for birds and wildlife including Golden Eagles, my first close shots of a Short-eared Owl this season, Yellow-bellied Marmot Pups, a close Say’s Phoebe and several Bald Eagles.
I was a little surprised to see apparent good numbers of Bald Eagles this late in the season. Usually by now most of them would be on their way north (few of them stay in Utah for the breeding season).
Ron
https://photos.app.goo.gl/FpTVaqmIYalgYfdk1
I hope this link works and is the correct pic. I just got this tattoo done last Friday, thought you might like it. I like turkey vultures too.
The link works. And I do like it, Dave!
Ron, l love vultures and you really captured their behavior in your photos. Thanks! I am fortunate here in the desert in AZ that I see them often from my backyard. I always stop and watch their majestic flight and how they circle with the thermals. I consider them the the master flyers in the sky!
I love the first shot. I think it shows the vulture’s character – smart and a little goofy.
Or a lot goofy. 🙂 Thanks, Pam.
Vey nice seeing the incredible display of wings. It looks almost as if evolution took a holiday and Turkey Vultures ended up with more wing span than they required so they can flaunt their feathers.
Your “evolution” comment brought a chuckle, Lyle. I agree.
No vultures here so I am always more than happy to see yours featured. Mind you, I can’t think of ANY of your birds I am not happy to see featured.
EC, I’m curious. Do you have any birds in OZ that fill a similar niche?
Not really. Our ravens do some clean-up work as do the magpies. And the Wedge-tailed eagles.
So it doesn’t sound like you have any strict carrion eaters. Interesting.
Nope. I believe that Antarctica and Australia are the only continents without vultures. And wonder why we missed out.
Love the first shot, and it is always nice to see Vultures flying in the air. Wonderful shots Ron!
Thank you, Jean.
These are fantastic shots, Ron! The last shot is just magnificent. I’ve spent time with TVs and CA Condors during my visits to Esalen and I am always mesmerized by the sight. Your first shot makes me think of the “plane origami” on an aircraft carrier.
And langourous is SUCH a great word — VERY cat-like! (I’ll show myself out now…) 😉
No worries, Marty. I can endure the occasional cat comparison… 🙂
I’m back! Just a quick request to see some of your other shots (especially the phoebe and SEO) — even if you think they’re yucky. We haven’t had “birdpourri” in a while and I’m always up for marmots! 🙂
I don’t think I’ll be posting the phoebe, Marty. It was close but much of its head was hidden behind the perch. Maybe the owl and a marmot or two though…
Here in Georgia it’s rainy, so I’m stuck in the house waiting for the clouds to pass. This blog always helps during the waiting process! Great shots as per usual!
Nice to know, Xavier (not about the rain but how my blog helps you to pass the time). Thanks.
Not the most beautiful face❗️I like to call them the clean up committee. We have an abundance of them around. Looking forward to seeing your Short-eared owl pictures😃
Have a great day
I don’t know yet about the SEO shots, Diana. I only had a couple of seconds with that bird. Maybe I’ll post one as an “auxiliary” image…
Understand perfectly about the light, we have and are supposed to have till this coming Friday to be socked in with, sleet, snow, rain! Right now our front walk is glare ice!
So Ron, you had a fantastic day yesterday – everything is relative!
Great pictures of the TV’s. Ours are back, but I have to hunt for them when the weather is this bad. Normally they are out and about.
Looking forward to images of all the others you got today!!
Wow, you’ve had it rough with weather this year, Dick.
I may post a few more images from yesterday. Or maybe not. Not sure yet how good some of them are.
A shallow “V” in flight,sivery undersides and that they “rock and roll” in flight , are my field marks with these big birds…mostly, the “rock and roll”
and shallow “V”…
Yup, sometimes (depending on the light) you can’t even see that lighter trailing wing edge.
Beautiful photos Ron. I mentioned before that we have a crew of about 30 here at Granite Mountain that warm up each morning in two big old dead pine trees before taking off. Not pictures many people want to see, but there is a reason for each creature under the sun, and they certainly do their job well. I’m surprised that your eagles leave early to head north. You are much farther north than we are, but our nesting eagles don’t leave here till about the first week in July when the juveniles are fully grown physically and ready to travel. Thanks again Ron, good light or not, your photos are always remarkable.
Everett Sanborn, Prescott AZ
Thanks, Everett. Very few of our Bald Eagles nest here. Instead most of them go further north for the breeding seasons.
Nice! Even with the lousy light 😉 Appears the vulture in the 2nd photo has some of it’s primaries clipped off – just the angle? I’ll take eagles any day good light or no!
Thanks, Judy. I see what you mean about the appearance of those primaries being clipped but I’m confident they weren’t. I’ve seen that happen before in shots where the wingtips are blurry because of DOF or shutter speed issues but I don’t believe that’s the cause here. Can’t ‘splain it…
I agree – if it’s in the other shots they show no damage…………
I am one of those rare people who think the turkey vultures are beautiful. These captures are wonderful. It amazes me that such a darkly colored bird has a beautiful silvery underside when the light is just right. I can really study the each feather in these shots. Wonderful!
“It amazes me that such a darkly colored bird has a beautiful silvery underside when the light is just right”
Renee, that’s one of the first field marks (the much lighter trailing edge of the wing) I ever learned about identifying a raptor in flight. If I remember correctly (and I believe I do) it was my old friend Terry Tempest Williams who first pointed it out to me back in the early 80’s and it’s a lesson that has always stuck with me.
Very nice; especially the old fencepost and the barbed wire…everything blends so well with the background. Watching these birds soar with their wing tips teetering is a joy…once you see it you never mistake them for anything else. I’m always glad when they return for the season…nature’s sanitation crew. Don’t know why but that face always reminds me of something apocalyptic…
“Don’t know why but that face always reminds me of something apocalyptic”
Now that I think about it I see what you mean, Kathy. Even though I can’t fully explain why either.
Sorry about the light, I thought it would be good yesterday too. I am heading out despite the overcast this morning. I have not been exploring in a few weeks and need to go. Works has been hard and the current politics are weighing me down.
Good luck today, April. With your work schedule you need to go when you can go!
“Current politics”. SUCK!!! Innocent people don’t act this way!!! Hope you get out and clear the cobwebs and brush away the blacl could of doom….wish I could!!!
Thanks Patty it was wonderfully refreshing at the refuge. Good birding but poor light. By the way Ron if you see this they have drained the best pond for viewing again! I hope it is not dry for long .
Dammit to hell! I was afraid they might do that. Thanks for the report, April – even though it’s bad news.
And BTW… I see ALL comments. It’s just that sometimes I don’t have time or opportunity to respond to some of them if they’re made later than the day the post was published.