{"id":60294,"date":"2019-09-18T04:03:30","date_gmt":"2019-09-18T10:03:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=60294"},"modified":"2025-09-16T13:54:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T18:54:09","slug":"immature-turkey-vultures-in-northern-utah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/09\/18\/immature-turkey-vultures-in-northern-utah\/","title":{"rendered":"Immature Turkey Vultures In Northern Utah"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SideSide by side immature Turkey Vultures – Nikon D500, f9, 1\/320, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

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. Even though the light didn’t cooperate I took images of the young Turkey Vultures because I knew that they’d be migrating soon.<\/p>\n

I liked that there were a pair of side by side immature Turkey Vultures on the lichen-covered rocks that stuck around for quite a while.<\/p>\n

\"ImmatureImmature Turkey Vulture resting on lichen-covered rocks – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Other immature Turkey Vultures were resting nearby and I took photos of them too despite the poor light simply because they were there and I hoped that some of the photos would meet my expectations.<\/p>\n

\"HatchHatch year Turkey Vulture walking in lichen-covered rocks – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/1250, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I’m okay with these three images and the rest of the photos I took are going to get moved over to the delete bin. The next time I see a bunch of immature Turkey Vultures together I hope I have better light.<\/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

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":156334,"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":[27,1148,1315,26],"tags":[4322,4098,5381,4067,3291,5771,4156,4470,6456,2443,4618,4617,4236,4193],"class_list":["post-60294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-turkey-vultures","category-utah","tag-cathartes-aura","tag-desert","tag-hatch-year","tag-immature","tag-lichen","tag-lichen-covered","tag-resting","tag-rocks","tag-side-by-side","tag-turkey-vulture","tag-vulture","tag-vultures","tag-walking","tag-young"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/turkey-vulture-immature-rocks-mia-mcpherson-2255.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-fGu","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":46572,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/05\/04\/roadside-turkey-vultures\/","url_meta":{"origin":60294,"position":0},"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":[]},{"id":41342,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/08\/26\/golden-eagle-turkey-vultures-plus-a-covey-of-gray-partridges\/","url_meta":{"origin":60294,"position":1},"title":"Golden Eagle, Turkey Vultures Plus a Covey of Gray Partridges","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I spent time in northern Utah yesterday and I was able to photograph a juvenile Golden Eagle, Turkey Vultures plus a covey of Gray Partridges.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Juvenile Gray Partridge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/gray-partridge-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-3166.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/gray-partridge-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-3166.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/gray-partridge-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-3166.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/gray-partridge-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-3166.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":101575,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/04\/17\/my-first-of-year-turkey-vulture\/","url_meta":{"origin":60294,"position":2},"title":"My First of Year Turkey Vulture","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This post with an image of my first of year Turkey Vulture is about 16 days late because I actually spotted this vulture on April 1st way up in northern Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Roosting first of year Turkey Vulture, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/turkey-vulture-first-of-year-mia-mcpherson-7881.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/turkey-vulture-first-of-year-mia-mcpherson-7881.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/turkey-vulture-first-of-year-mia-mcpherson-7881.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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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":112763,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/04\/21\/my-first-of-season-turkey-vulture-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":60294,"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. 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