{"id":156105,"date":"2025-09-16T04:26:03","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T09:26:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=156105"},"modified":"2025-09-16T05:31:40","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T10:31:40","slug":"immature-turkey-vulture-photos-from-oklahoma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/09\/16\/immature-turkey-vulture-photos-from-oklahoma\/","title":{"rendered":"Immature Turkey Vulture Photos From Oklahoma"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday morning I was delighted to take immature Turkey Vulture photos at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge along with some images of adults.<\/p>\n

I took plenty of photos of the adults, but in this post I am sharing just one, placed at the end for comparison. My focus was on the young vultures.<\/p>\n

\"ImmatureImmature Turkey Vulture thermoregulating in Oklahoma \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/1600, ISO 1000, +1.0 EV, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Immature Turkey Vultures stand out because their heads are grayish rather than the bright red of the adults. From a distance, this can make them easy to mistake for Black Vultures.<\/p>\n

Having both adult and immature vultures in the same tree made the differences between age groups very clear.<\/p>\n

One of the young vultures already had its wings stretched out in a thermoregulating posture when I drove up.<\/p>\n

\"YoungYoung Turkey Vulture resting on a dead tree branch \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/1600, ISO 1000, +1.0 EV, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The other immature vulture was lying down along a dead branch, looking relaxed and comfortable.<\/p>\n

When Turkey Vultures lay down like this it reminds me of chickens and turkeys. It cracks me up.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Turkey Vulture on a bright September morning \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/1250, ISO 1000, +1.3 EV, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Turkey Vultures<\/span><\/a> may not have the most glamorous reputation, but I enjoy moments like this when they let me photograph them and capture the details that set the young apart from the adults.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Yesterday morning I was delighted to take immature Turkey Vulture photos at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge along with some images of adults.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":156097,"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":[27,13973,13974,1315],"tags":[14190,13984,4897,5007,4322,4992,4067,4378,14021,153,4156,6517,16759,14020,4018,8453,2315,5036,5387,4427,2443,4618,4617,4193],"class_list":["post-156105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-oklahoma","category-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","category-turkey-vultures","tag-bottomland-hardwood-forest","tag-bottomlands","tag-branch","tag-bright","tag-cathartes-aura","tag-dead","tag-immature","tag-morning","tag-oklahoma","tag-raptors","tag-resting","tag-roost","tag-september","tag-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","tag-sky","tag-snag","tag-summer-3","tag-sunning","tag-thermoregulating","tag-tree","tag-turkey-vulture","tag-vulture","tag-vultures","tag-young"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/turkey-vulture-sequoyah-immature-mia-mcpherson-8656.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-EBP","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":140974,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/02\/28\/two-black-vultures-in-winter\/","url_meta":{"origin":156105,"position":0},"title":"Two Black Vultures In Winter","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"While I was at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma yesterday, Steve Creek and I went for a walk, and I photographed these two Black Vultures.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Two Black Vultures next to Goss' Slough, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-vultures-ground-mia-mcpherson-6333.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-vultures-ground-mia-mcpherson-6333.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-vultures-ground-mia-mcpherson-6333.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/black-vultures-ground-mia-mcpherson-6333.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":139162,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/02\/02\/winter-black-vulture-photos-from-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":156105,"position":1},"title":"Winter Black Vulture Photos From Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"While at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma yesterday morning, I was delighted to photograph this adult Black Vulture on a bright, sunny winter day.","rel":"","context":"In "Black Vultures"","block_context":{"text":"Black 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 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":115586,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/09\/02\/international-vulture-awareness-day-2023\/","url_meta":{"origin":156105,"position":2},"title":"International Vulture Awareness Day 2023","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 2, 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":130297,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/07\/07\/immature-black-vulture-photos-from-sequoyah-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":156105,"position":3},"title":"Immature Black Vulture Photos From Sequoyah NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 7, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"On the Fourth of July, I was delighted to photograph an immature Black Vulture shortly after sunrise at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Immature Black Vulture at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/black-vulture-immature-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-8596.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/black-vulture-immature-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-8596.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/black-vulture-immature-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-8596.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/black-vulture-immature-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-8596.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":142752,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/04\/09\/squabbling-turkey-vultures-on-a-hog-carcass\/","url_meta":{"origin":156105,"position":4},"title":"Squabbling Turkey Vultures On A Hog Carcass","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Two days ago, while visiting Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma, I had the opportunity to photograph two Turkey Vultures squabbling on a hog carcass.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Turkey Vulture - This is my hog!, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/turkey-vultures-hog-carcass-mia-mcpherson-3213.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/turkey-vultures-hog-carcass-mia-mcpherson-3213.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/turkey-vultures-hog-carcass-mia-mcpherson-3213.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/turkey-vultures-hog-carcass-mia-mcpherson-3213.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":170985,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2026\/03\/04\/black-vultures-in-a-field-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":156105,"position":5},"title":"Black Vultures In A Field At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 4, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week I was delighted to come across two Black Vultures on the ground in a field at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Black Vultures in a field at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/black-vultures-in-a-field-mia-mcpherson-8853.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/black-vultures-in-a-field-mia-mcpherson-8853.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/black-vultures-in-a-field-mia-mcpherson-8853.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/black-vultures-in-a-field-mia-mcpherson-8853.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}