{"id":46813,"date":"2017-05-17T06:10:18","date_gmt":"2017-05-17T12:10:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=46813"},"modified":"2025-09-16T10:59:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T15:59:14","slug":"turkey-vultures-feathered-gatekeepers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/05\/17\/turkey-vultures-feathered-gatekeepers\/","title":{"rendered":"Turkey Vultures – Feathered Gatekeepers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RestingResting Turkey Vulture and a red gate \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 320, -1.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

First I want to say it is May 17th and there is at least an inch of snow on the ground as I write this and it is still coming down! I checked and the latest date for snow in the Salt Lake City area is May 18th so we are one day off from a three-way tie. Crazy.<\/p>\n

On two different dates in early May I was able to photograph Turkey Vultures on red and green gates in northern Utah.<\/p>\n

\"TurkeyTurkey Vulture walking on a red gate \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 320, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Some gates here are wooden, or wire with wooden braces and some are metal. Usually it is only the metal gates that are painted in different colors. I’m sure this red gate was brighter when it was new but the sun has probably bleached some of the vibrant color away.<\/p>\n

\"TurkeyTurkey Vulture perched on a red ranch gate \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 320, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I know that some people associate gates with death and shedding our mortal coils for instance “Pearly Gates” and the “Gates of Hell” but these vultures are just roosting and perching on the gates because… well they are convenient perches.<\/p>\n

\"ThreeThree thermoregulating Turkey Vultures on a green gate \u2013 Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 320, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 200mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

In this image it is easy to see why the vultures perched on the gate by looking at the background. Not much to perch on there except the ground. Sure, there are power poles nearby but a group of vultures can’t perch together on a single pole and Turkey Vultures do seem to like to roost together.<\/p>\n

\"ThermoregulatingThermoregulating Turkey Vulture on a green gate \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/640, ISO 250, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Two days after I photographed the vultures on the red gate I was able to photograph Turkey Vultures on a weathered green gate. Some of the vultures were thermoregulating.<\/p>\n

\"CloseClose up of a Turkey Vulture with its bill open \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/640, ISO 250, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Some were close enough for me to take portraits of. I like the open bill shown in this photo plus the direct eye contact. And that white stuff on the birds back… it is poop from other vultures that may have been perched higher than this one.<\/p>\n

\"TurkeyTurkey Vulture on the corner of a green gate \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 250, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

It was early morning when I photographed these Turkey Vultures on the green gate on a cool morning, I’m certain the sun warmed the vultures up because it felt good to me too.<\/p>\n

\"TurkeyTurkey Vulture thermoregulating on the corner of a green gate \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 250, -1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Mornings can be cool here in northern Utah even into June. It’s cold enough to snow here this morning!<\/p>\n

Turkey Vultures have lower body temperatures at night than they do during the day and spreading their wings on sunny mornings helps to raise their body temperature to their daytime levels.<\/p>\n

\"TurkeyTurkey Vulture preening a single feather \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/640, ISO 250, -1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Morning also seems to be a preferred time for Turkey Vultures to preen and groom their feathers because I see that behavior combined with thermoregulation quite often while I am out in the field.<\/p>\n

Normally I prefer natural perches for my subjects but I rather enjoyed photographing these Turkey Vultures and thinking of them as feathered gatekeepers.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Normally I prefer natural perches for my subjects but I rather enjoyed photographing these Turkey Vultures and thinking of them as feathered gatekeepers. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":156266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_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":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27,1148,1315,26],"tags":[5552,9618,4322,4142,4608,5872,5871,5870,4104,4375,4046,4019,5849,4156,6987,5387,5035,2443,4618,4617,4236,4985,5491],"class_list":["post-46813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-turkey-vultures","category-utah","tag-bill","tag-body-temperatures","tag-cathartes-aura","tag-close-up","tag-feather","tag-gatekeepers","tag-gates","tag-green-gate","tag-perched","tag-poop","tag-portrait","tag-preening-2","tag-red-gate","tag-resting","tag-sun","tag-thermoregulating","tag-thermoregulation","tag-turkey-vulture","tag-vulture","tag-vultures","tag-walking","tag-warming-up","tag-weathered"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/turkey-vulture-preening-mia-mcpherson-0316.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-cb3","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":46572,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/05\/04\/roadside-turkey-vultures\/","url_meta":{"origin":46813,"position":0},"title":"Roadside 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/turkey-vulture-thermoregulating-close-up-left-mia-mcpherson-2298.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-vulture-thermoregulating-close-up-left-mia-mcpherson-2298.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/turkey-vulture-thermoregulating-close-up-left-mia-mcpherson-2298.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/turkey-vulture-thermoregulating-close-up-left-mia-mcpherson-2298.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":60294,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/09\/18\/immature-turkey-vultures-in-northern-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":46813,"position":2},"title":"Immature Turkey Vultures In Northern Utah","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 18, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I don't have many decent photos of immature Turkey Vultures so when I spotted several of them 11 days ago in northern Utah I was excited but my hopes for good light on the hatch year birds were dashed by clouds.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hatch year Turkey Vulture walking in lichen-covered rocks, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/turkey-vulture-immature-rocks-mia-mcpherson-2255.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/turkey-vulture-immature-rocks-mia-mcpherson-2255.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/turkey-vulture-immature-rocks-mia-mcpherson-2255.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/turkey-vulture-immature-rocks-mia-mcpherson-2255.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":56502,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/03\/09\/migrating-turkey-vultures-are-on-the-wing\/","url_meta":{"origin":46813,"position":3},"title":"Migrating Turkey Vultures Are On The Wing","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 9, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I miss seeing and photographing Turkey Vultures during the winter and now I am excited that very soon I'll be seeing them roosting on fence posts, rocky outcroppings, cattle gates, trees, corrals and the ground, riding the thermals, thermoregulating and scarfing up road kill all over the place!","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Turkey Vulture flying low over sagebrush, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/turkey-vulture-flight-sagebrush-mia-mcpherson-5371.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/turkey-vulture-flight-sagebrush-mia-mcpherson-5371.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/turkey-vulture-flight-sagebrush-mia-mcpherson-5371.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/turkey-vulture-flight-sagebrush-mia-mcpherson-5371.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":112763,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/04\/21\/my-first-of-season-turkey-vulture-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":46813,"position":4},"title":"My First Of Season Turkey Vulture Images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 21, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"First of season Turkey Vulture on a lichen covered rock, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/turkey-vulture-first-of-season-mia-mcpherson-9334.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/turkey-vulture-first-of-season-mia-mcpherson-9334.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/turkey-vulture-first-of-season-mia-mcpherson-9334.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/turkey-vulture-first-of-season-mia-mcpherson-9334.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":68295,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/04\/11\/thermoregulating-turkey-vulture-close-up\/","url_meta":{"origin":46813,"position":5},"title":"Thermoregulating Turkey Vulture Close Up","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 11, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Mornings have still been fairly chilly here in northern Utah and the Turkey Vultures that recently arrived on spring migration have been taking advantage of the rising sun by thermoregulating to help chase off the chill.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Turkey Vulture thermoregulating close up, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/turkey-vulture-thermoregulating-close-up-right-mia-mcpherson-2262.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/turkey-vulture-thermoregulating-close-up-right-mia-mcpherson-2262.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/turkey-vulture-thermoregulating-close-up-right-mia-mcpherson-2262.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/turkey-vulture-thermoregulating-close-up-right-mia-mcpherson-2262.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\/46813","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=46813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46813\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}