Immature Black Vulture Photos From Sequoyah NWR

On the Fourth of July, I was delighted to photograph an immature Black Vulture shortly after sunrise at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. Steve spotted the vulture high in a willow tree.

Immature Black Vulture at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/160, ISO 1600, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

I’ve photographed adult and younger Black Vultures, but this was my first time photographing what I would call a teenage Black Vulture.

This vulture wasn’t technically a juvenile, nor was it an adult, just somewhere in between those two ages. I liked the white downy feathers that created a collar around the young vulture’s neck.

Immature Black Vulture perched in a willow – Nikon D500, f10, 1/100, ISO 1600, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

Steve and I hoped to get some good morning light on the vulture and even waited around for a bit, but soon realized that the trees to the east of the bird were going to block that kind of light.

Still, we took our time and moved slightly closer to the immature Black Vulture in steps so we could get different perspectives of the bird. I think the young vulture was curious about us; it never seemed nervous at all, but it did keep looking at us as we took our photos of it.

The vulture was still in the tree when we decided to move on and look for more subjects to focus on. I know I took several hundred images of this one bird!

My video has no sound; I apologize for that because the bird songs were incredible that morning. What I need to do is purchase an external microphone so the mic doesn’t pick up the incredibly annoying sound of the motor in my 500mm lens.

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing these photos and the video of the “teenaged” Black Vulture. I know that I enjoyed seeing and photographing this young vulture; it was a treat for me.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Black Vulture photos plus facts and information about this species.