It’s only a novelty shot but somehow it seems perfect to help me get through my third day of new floor installation.
1/1250, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in
Last night after applying a second coat of paint to 96′ of new baseboards I sat down at my computer to come up with a photo to post this morning and this one from April of 2018 caught my eye. To be honest I’d forgotten I had it and barely remember taking it. But it brought what might have been the first smile of the day to my face so I decided to run with it.
My first thought on seeing the photo was – how many vultures are really here? At first I thought there might be three, stacked almost on top of each other, but after a few seconds it became apparent that there were only two. Somehow I think it’s the tail angles that initially made me wonder if there were three. I didn’t have enough room in the frame to avoid clipping a wing but with a novelty shot like this one it doesn’t bother me. Not much anyway.
So far I’m loving the new floors and Andrew, the installer, has been pleasant, efficient, professional and interesting to talk to. But the process has been incredibly inconvenient and disruptive and it’s taking longer than expected. And damn, has it ever been noisy around here!
After today I should get my life back. I’m really looking forward to getting back in the field again and spending some time with birds. And I promise, this is the last you’ll hear about my new floors and their installation.
Ron
The juxtaposition of the birds is extraordinary but what I particularly like is the profile of the head. One can see all the wonderful adaptations of this member of Mother Nature’s “cleanup crew”.
Thank you, Elizabeth.
Definitely a one-of-a-kind shot. Interesting and fun. Hope you will get some rest now that the worst is over
Thanks, Granny Pat. I hope so too.
Wunnaful.
And it has brought a smile to my face this morning too.
You only said you wouldn’t talk about your new flooring. There was no mention of not showing us a photo…
“You only said you wouldn’t talk about your new flooring. There was no mention of not showing us a photo”
Good point, EC. Although it would be pretty awkward to show without talking…
Great “where’s Waldo?” shot!! I had to do a double-take too 🙂
Thanks, Terri.
“Bi-winged Turkey Vulture”—there’s a concept! I know they’re very communal but this togetherness is quite a sight to see, a very fun photo.
I’m envious of your new hardwood floors—mine are past due for refinishing but it was such a mess the first time around I haven’t been able to bring myself to schedule it. We *would* like to see the finished product, even if you promised no more floor posts. Just sayin’….
“Bi-winged Turkey Vulture” – or quadra-winged…
Chris, technically my new floors aren’t hardwood even though they look like they are. So they’re very low maintenance and they’ll never have to be refinished.
Loved your woody pun…
Ha! I borrowed Lyle’s phrase, so I’ll blame him for bi instead of quadra. 😂
What a fun shot! Congrats on your floors. Very messy process and hopefully the results are exceeding Mia & your expectations 🙂
Thanks, Kathleen. Expectations exceeded. So far…
Fun layered photo, it took me a minute to figure it out. I like to look before reading, you so often explain.
Wait though, we want a finished photo of your floor, so don’t forget to include that on one of the posts!
April, I’m glad to learn that I’m not the only one who was briefly confused about what I was seeing. Hell, I TOOK the photo and I was confused…
This is one pretty slick shot, Ron! This is the first time I’ve seen TVs doing “the wave.” 😉 Any vulture shot makes my day and this one is incredibly special, so a big thank-you from here.
“And I promise, this is the last you’ll hear about my new floors and their installation.” After all this, we don’t even get to see the finished floors? You tease!
Marty, you are so adorably… predictable! :: 🙂 🙂
Believe it or not when I was typing that sentence you quoted I thought to myself “I’ll bet Marty asks for a photo of my new floors”.
But since I said “this is the last you’ll hear about my new floors” in my post I can’t do it because I’d be breaking my promise. You know me, a man of my word…
Glad whatever I am is at least adorable. 😇
To me, predictable is a compliment.
I would debate the point that seeing the floors would be hearing about it. 😀 I’m with Marty!
🙂
Except for the two nonaligned tails you could have posted it as the first ever bi-winged Turkey Vulture.
The extreme head-to-body ratio really stands out. Just the opposite of your posts of Loggerhead Shrikes and Belted Kingfishers.
“The extreme head-to-body ratio really stands out. Just the opposite of your posts of Loggerhead Shrikes and Belted Kingfishers.”
An insightful observation, Lyle. I wish I’d thought to say something similar in my post. More about birds and less about my floors…
Always fun to see the Vultures in the morning doing their warm ups. Really hard to tell, but I thought there might be two posts. Good luck with the rest of the floor install, and don’t hurt that back putting things back in order.
Thanks, Everett. I’m pretty sure there were two posts. We just can’t see one of them.
That IS novel! 🙂 Fitting 2 on the post had to be a challenge plus “sharing”, sort of, the warming sun beams must have also been a challenge!
Glad you’re on the downhill side of the floor project! Always good when you have good help for these things – can be a real “crap shoot”. Things ALWAYS seem to take longer than anticipated. 😉
Judy, if I remember correctly there was a smaller post in front of this one that the other vulture was perched on. We just can’t see it in the photo.
Yay! New floors! I remember the pain of this process when we replaced all our carpet with hardwood floors. Love ’em. And I wouldn’t want to go through it again! BTW, great shot of the Turkey Vultures. I have been reading about them in Mary Roach’s new book “Fuzz” a very interesting read.
Thanks, Brett. I’ll have to look into Roach’s new book.