I took my first Turkey Vulture images of the season two days ago. That is later than usual for me, but this spring hasn’t been normal at all.
First of season Turkey Vulture on a lichen covered rock – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/800, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
I had seen some Turkey Vultures in flight before taking these photos. The vultures were fairly far away, so I never raised my camera to capture images of them. However, I was delighted to find this vulture perched on a lichen-covered rocky outcropping in a desert habitat.
I am always happy to see this species because they handle cleaning up some of the smelliest things I find on the roads that I travel. I also enjoy photographing them because their dark plumage makes exposing them properly a challenge.
First of season Turkey Vulture in Box Elder County – Nikon D500, f9, 1/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
I took two trips down the road and mistakenly thought I had photographed the same bird on the same perch until I got home. When I previewed my images of the Turkey Vulture, I realized it had moved between my trips up and down the road.
There are several old, rundown buildings off of the road I took to photograph this Turkey Vulture. I always wonder if the vultures nest in those old barns and houses. It would be terrific to have access to the buildings to see if they do nest in them but those rundown buildings are on private land.
Unlike the dark plumage of the adults, the hatchlings of Turkey Vultures are snow white. It would be fun to photograph them together. Maybe one day I will find some young vultures to photograph.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to view more of my Turkey Vulture photos plus facts and information about this species.
Lovely photos. They are late! I had 4 soaring over the valley by my house, they went up and over the Wasatch. It there is any meat left on the bones of the winter killed deer and elk they should have good feasting as the snow melts.
Great wing feather detail! Nice to see these handsome birds out and about again. The lichen-covered rocks provide a nice background as well.