{"id":128520,"date":"2024-05-15T03:01:52","date_gmt":"2024-05-15T08:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=128520"},"modified":"2024-05-15T03:40:12","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T08:40:12","slug":"black-vulture-portraits-from-tishomingo-national-wildlife-refuge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/05\/15\/black-vulture-portraits-from-tishomingo-national-wildlife-refuge\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Vulture Portraits From Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, I was thrilled to take my first Black Vulture photos at Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge<\/span><\/a>, and some were portraits of the vultures that I found.<\/p>\n

\"CloseClose up Black Vulture at Tishomingo NWR \u2013 Nikon D500, f9, 1\/160, ISO 800, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Both Turkey and Black Vultures are found at the refuge. While I found both species, I wanted to photograph the Black Vultures the most because this was a vulture species I did not see while I lived in Utah. I photographed a young vulture before it left its nest<\/span><\/a> last year at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.<\/p>\n

It was a thrill for me to take those images. The vulture nest was inside a natural cavity in a tree next to the road at that refuge. My thanks go out to Steve Creek<\/span><\/a>, a dear friend and excellent wildlife photographer, for pointing out and sharing those Black Vulture chicks with me last year.<\/p>\n

\"TishomingoTishomingo NWR Black Vulture portrait \u2013 Nikon D500, f9, 1\/250, ISO 800, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I didn’t find or see any Black Vultures in a nest at Tishomingo NWR, but it was my first trip there, and I was busy exploring the refuge.<\/p>\n

Finding Black Vultures was delightful, and I was very pleased to have them in my viewfinder.<\/p>\n

This particular Black Vulture has puzzled me. I believe that it isn’t quite mature, or adult, yet. It was browner than I expect an adult to be. I’m also not sure the brown fuzzy stubble on its head is seen on adult Black Vultures. This vulture may have hatched last year, but I am not certain about that. I didn’t see this Black Vulture with their wings spread so I couldn’t see the feathers I would want to see to look for signs of molt.<\/p>\n

However old this Black Vulture is, it made my day even better to take these portraits.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my Black Vulture photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, I was thrilled to take my first Black Vulture photos at Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, and some were portraits of the vultures that I found.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":128515,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,4614,13973,15021],"tags":[4615,13985,13984,4142,4616,6583,4046,153,4092,165,4618,4617],"class_list":["post-128520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-black-vultures","category-oklahoma","category-tishomingo-national-wildlife-refuge","tag-black-vulture","tag-bottomland-hardwood-forests","tag-bottomlands","tag-close-up","tag-coragyps-atratus","tag-leaves","tag-portrait","tag-raptors","tag-refuge","tag-spring","tag-vulture","tag-vultures"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/black-vulture-portrait-tishomingo-NWR-mia-mcpherson-9655.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-xqU","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":129700,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/06\/22\/turkey-vulture-images-from-tishomingo-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":128520,"position":0},"title":"Turkey Vulture Images From Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 22, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"On my first trip to Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, I was delighted to take some Turkey Vulture images, where I had also photographed Black Vultures.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Turkey Vulture at Tishomingo NWR, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Johnston County, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/turkey-vulture-adult-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-9383.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/turkey-vulture-adult-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-9383.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Vultures","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/diurnal-raptors\/black-vultures\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Black Vulture perched on a possible nesting site, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-vulture-winter-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-2677.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-vulture-winter-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-2677.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-vulture-winter-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-2677.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-vulture-winter-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-2677.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Today is International Vulture Awareness Day 2023. I admit to having a soft spot for vultures because they are often misunderstood, and because I tend to stand up for those who have no voice.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Two Turkey Vultures on a spring morning, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/turkey-vultures-on-a-cliff-mia-mcpherson-3929.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/turkey-vultures-on-a-cliff-mia-mcpherson-3929.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/turkey-vultures-on-a-cliff-mia-mcpherson-3929.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/turkey-vultures-on-a-cliff-mia-mcpherson-3929.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":128732,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/05\/19\/tishomingo-wildlife-management-unit-views\/","url_meta":{"origin":128520,"position":4},"title":"Tishomingo Wildlife Management Unit Views Plus A Sunbathing Turkey Vulture","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 19, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I wandered around Tishomingo Wildlife Management Unit yesterday morning. 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