{"id":9493,"date":"2013-09-19T03:45:23","date_gmt":"2013-09-19T09:45:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=9493"},"modified":"2025-04-24T12:56:32","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T17:56:32","slug":"turkey-vultures-might-not-be-pretty-but-they-are-awesome-at-what-they-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/09\/19\/turkey-vultures-might-not-be-pretty-but-they-are-awesome-at-what-they-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Turkey Vultures Might Not Be Pretty But They Are Awesome At What They Do"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AdultAdult Turkey Vulture on a fence post<\/span><\/p>\n

A bald red head, dark plumage and a white tipped bill isn’t something that most people think of as handsome, regal or even good looking but Turkey Vultures are awesome at what they do. They have been called\u00a0 john crow, carrion crow, turkey buzzard and “vomiting vultures” because when they are disturbed their defense is to vomit bits of undigested offal (isn’t that awful?).<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Turkey Vulture getting ready to lift off<\/span><\/p>\n

But they are a dependable cleanup crew wherever they might be, they clean up road kill that most of us wouldn’t touch with a 20 foot pole, then feed on dead animals that we don’t even see and they do it efficiently. They have strong stomachs and a very keen sense of smell and very graceful when they are soaring in flight.<\/p>\n

I can’t dislike like them because they aren’t “pretty, they are birds which\u00a0are my favorite subjects to photograph.<\/p>\n

This is the other bird that saved my day on Monday in Snowville<\/span><\/a>, Utah when the birds were not very cooperative and stayed too far away and yes, a big rig scared it\u00a0off too.<\/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":"

A bald red head, dark plumage and a white tipped bill isn’t something that most people think of as handsome, regal or even good looking but Turkey Vultures are awesome at what they do. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":143080,"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":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1148,1315,26],"tags":[4004,16412,2663,4322,11120,11563,898,4104,153,2315,2443,4618,4617],"class_list":["post-9493","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-awesome","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-cathartes-aura","tag-farmland","tag-farmlands","tag-fence-post","tag-perched","tag-raptors","tag-summer-3","tag-turkey-vulture","tag-vulture","tag-vultures"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/turkey-vulture-mia-mcpherson-utah-7471.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-2t7","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":46572,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/05\/04\/roadside-turkey-vultures\/","url_meta":{"origin":9493,"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":81237,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/03\/12\/signs-of-spring-first-turkey-vulture-sighting-report\/","url_meta":{"origin":9493,"position":1},"title":"Signs Of Spring – First Turkey Vulture Sighting Report","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 12, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday afternoon I received an email from the UBird Google group with a first of the year Turkey Vulture sighting and that got me excited.\u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spring Turkey Vulture on a fence post, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/turkey-vulture-thermoregulating-mia-mcpherson-1854.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-thermoregulating-mia-mcpherson-1854.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/turkey-vulture-thermoregulating-mia-mcpherson-1854.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/turkey-vulture-thermoregulating-mia-mcpherson-1854.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":126457,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/03\/29\/turkey-vultures-are-heading-to-their-breeding-grounds\/","url_meta":{"origin":9493,"position":2},"title":"Turkey Vultures Are Heading To Their Breeding Grounds","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 29, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A little birdie told me that they easily saw more than 60 turkey vultures flying over St. George two evenings ago. That birdie was my good friend April Olson.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Turkey Vulture on an old wooden fence, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/turkey-vulture-old-wooden-fence-spring-mia-mcpherson-2160.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/turkey-vulture-old-wooden-fence-spring-mia-mcpherson-2160.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/turkey-vulture-old-wooden-fence-spring-mia-mcpherson-2160.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/turkey-vulture-old-wooden-fence-spring-mia-mcpherson-2160.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":9493,"position":3},"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":28128,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/09\/05\/international-vulture-awareness-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":9493,"position":4},"title":"International Vulture Awareness Day","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Sure, vultures aren't are handsome as Bald Eagles but they do serve an ecological function of cleaning up carrion so in essence they are nature's recyclers.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mature Black Vulture on post, Lettuce Lake, Hillsborough County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/black-vulture-adult-mia-mcpherson-8191.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/black-vulture-adult-mia-mcpherson-8191.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/black-vulture-adult-mia-mcpherson-8191.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/black-vulture-adult-mia-mcpherson-8191.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":9493,"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\/9493","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=9493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}