{"id":51608,"date":"2018-04-11T05:42:32","date_gmt":"2018-04-11T11:42:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=51608"},"modified":"2025-10-05T19:08:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T00:08:34","slug":"adult-turkey-vulture-in-flight-close-up-almost-too-close","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/04\/11\/adult-turkey-vulture-in-flight-close-up-almost-too-close\/","title":{"rendered":"Adult Turkey Vulture In Flight Close Up – Almost Too Close"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TurkeyTurkey Vulture in flight close up – Nikon D500, f8, 1\/1000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I wanted to process quite a few of the images of the mating and nest building Red-tailed Hawks I photographed two days ago in northern Utah last evening but things got in the way, like they always seem to do.<\/p>\n

I mentioned in my post yesterday that I saw several Turkey Vultures, some of those birds were in flight too far away to take images of them but there were three on a grassy slope that were on the ground that I could take photos of.<\/p>\n

The grass the vultures were on was so green, spring green, the kind of green that makes you aware that even if it snows again spring is here to stay. I really didn’t care much for those images though because behind the birds there were bright, nearly white exposed stems of rabbitbrush that seemed to draw my attention away from the vultures, but perhaps I am too picky and should review those photos more carefully before I toss them into my delete bin.<\/p>\n

I was at f16, 1\/200 when the first of the three vultures took flight, my shutter speed was way too slow to capture that vulture taking off in focus and sharp. I’d set my aperture at f16 trying to get all three birds in focus while they were on the ground.<\/p>\n

I quickly changed my aperture and while I did that the second vulture took flight and I missed that take off but I was ready when the third vulture took to the air.<\/p>\n

When the third Turkey Vulture lifted off I expected it to go north like the other two vultures had but instead it flew south and very close to where I was at the side of the road in a vehicle being used as a mobile blind, almost too close.<\/p>\n

This photo is full frame top to bottom, I did crop some off of the right side of the frame because I felt the vulture was too centered and by cropping some off that side it gives the illusion of the vulture having more space on the left side of the frame to “virtually” fly into.<\/p>\n

Had this vulture been any closer I would have clipped its wings which I did in a few other frames. I liked the sagebrush on the hillside in the background, the raised wing and the nice eye contact.<\/p>\n

Even though I missed the shots of the first two vultures taking flight I’m happy that I was ready when the third one flew in front of me.<\/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":"

When the third Turkey Vulture lifted off I expected it to go north like the other two vultures had but instead it flew south and very close to where I was at the side of the road in a vehicle being used as a mobile blind, almost too close.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":133200,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","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":[27,1148,1315,26],"tags":[4004,4322,4142,4098,4052,4122,751,11852,4057,165,2443,4618,4617],"class_list":["post-51608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-turkey-vultures","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-cathartes-aura","tag-close-up","tag-desert","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-hillside","tag-ranchlands","tag-sagebrush","tag-spring","tag-turkey-vulture","tag-vulture","tag-vultures"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/turkey-vulture-flight-close-up-mia-mcpherson-4762.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-dqo","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":70255,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/05\/26\/adult-turkey-vultures-thermoregulating\/","url_meta":{"origin":51608,"position":0},"title":"Adult Turkey Vultures Thermoregulating","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"In April there was a bright, sunny morning when I had several opportunities to photograph adult Turkey Vultures warming up after a chilly night by thermoregulating.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Close up of an adult Turkey Vulture thermoregulating in Box Elder County, Box Elder County, 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":51839,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/04\/27\/turkey-vultures-aka-turkey-buzzards\/","url_meta":{"origin":51608,"position":1},"title":"Turkey Vultures aka Turkey Buzzards","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 27, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I grew up calling Turkey Vultures by the name \"Turkey Buzzards\" and every once in a blue moon I still unintentionally slip and call them by their nickname instead of their proper common name.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Turkey Vulture in flight over sage, rabbitbrush and grasses, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/turkey-vulture-adult-flight-mia-mcpherson-5370.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/turkey-vulture-adult-flight-mia-mcpherson-5370.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/turkey-vulture-adult-flight-mia-mcpherson-5370.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/turkey-vulture-adult-flight-mia-mcpherson-5370.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":51608,"position":2},"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":[]},{"id":112763,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/04\/21\/my-first-of-season-turkey-vulture-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":51608,"position":3},"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":52571,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/06\/13\/photographing-turkey-vultures-on-a-june-morning\/","url_meta":{"origin":51608,"position":4},"title":"Photographing Turkey Vultures On A June Morning","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"As a bird photographer I have found that it is easy to make any species of owl look interesting and appealing in my images but it is more of a challenge to do that with Turkey Vultures but that doesn't mean I don't try. I will always try.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Turkey Vulture in front of a sage covered hillside, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/turkey-vulture-sage-fence-post-mia-mcpherson-1411.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-sage-fence-post-mia-mcpherson-1411.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/turkey-vulture-sage-fence-post-mia-mcpherson-1411.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/turkey-vulture-sage-fence-post-mia-mcpherson-1411.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":46572,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/05\/04\/roadside-turkey-vultures\/","url_meta":{"origin":51608,"position":5},"title":"Roadside Turkey Vultures – Facts and Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 4, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I took way too many images of several approachable roadside Turkey Vultures sunning, preening, scratching and resting but I am happy with the photos of the birds.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sunning Turkey Vulture, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/turkey-vulture-sunning-mia-mcpherson-8995.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/turkey-vulture-sunning-mia-mcpherson-8995.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/turkey-vulture-sunning-mia-mcpherson-8995.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/turkey-vulture-sunning-mia-mcpherson-8995.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\/51608","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=51608"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51608\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}