{"id":95064,"date":"2021-09-16T05:06:30","date_gmt":"2021-09-16T11:06:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=95064"},"modified":"2021-09-16T05:29:32","modified_gmt":"2021-09-16T11:29:32","slug":"late-summer-turkey-vulture-and-common-sunflowers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/09\/16\/late-summer-turkey-vulture-and-common-sunflowers\/","title":{"rendered":"Late Summer Turkey Vulture And Common Sunflowers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AA field of wild Common Sunflowers in bloom \u2013 Nikon D500, f9, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 52mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve mentioned a few times recently that Common Sunflowers bloom in many of the areas that I head to when I want to find and photograph birds. In some areas I find a clump of wild sunflowers here and a clump there and in some locations I find huge, expansive locations covered in their sunny yellow flowers.<\/p>\n

\"SummerSummer Common Sunflowers in bloom \u2013 Nikon D500, f9, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 44mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I adore seeing and photographing Common Sunflowers wherever I find them. They just make me smile. Yesterday I smiled often because I found a lot of these sunny wildflowers.<\/p>\n

\"CommonCommon Sunflowers blooming in northern Utah – Samsung cell phone f1.7, 1\/3928, ISO 50, 4mm
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I take photos of the sunflowers using all of my cameras including the one in my phone because with it I can get nice, wide angle views.<\/p>\n

This has been a great year for Common Sunflowers<\/span><\/a> even though we have been experiencing extreme to exceptional drought conditions.<\/p>\n

\"LateLate summer Turkey Vulture on a metal pipe \u2013 Nikon D810, f9, 1\/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday I found an adult Turkey Vulture<\/span><\/a> perched on a metal pipe with a field of sunflowers below and behind it. I liked the pop of yellow in my photos of this bird. The vulture was so close to the road that with my 1.4x teleconverter attached I could barely fit the entire bird in the frame so I had to remove it.<\/p>\n

\"TurkeyTurkey Vulture in front of blooming sunflowers \u2013 Nikon D810, f9, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

After removing my teleconverter I felt more comfortable because in full frame mode I knew I wasn’t going to clip any of the vulture’s body parts and i could see more of the out of focus sunflowers in the background too.<\/p>\n

\"TurkeyTurkey Vulture showing its tongue \u2013 Nikon D810, f9, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The Turkey Vulture yawned which meant I was able to get great views of its tongue. I cropped in a little closer here to show the tongue of the vulture.<\/p>\n

\"YawningYawning Turkey Vulture showing its tongue \u2013 Nikon D810, f9, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

And in this next frame I loosened the crop to show more of the background with the Turkey Vulture sticking out its tongue.<\/p>\n

\"FluffyFluffy Turkey Vulture and blooming sunflowers \u2013 Nikon D810, f8, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The Turkey Vulture gave me several different poses and I was happy to take photos of them all. Here my photo shows the vulture after it had shaken its feathers and was settling back down on the rusty metal pipe.<\/p>\n

\"TurkeyTurkey Vulture getting ready to lift off \u2013 Nikon D810, f9, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

As I took photos of this Turkey Vulture I wondered out loud if these might be my last of year (LOY) photos of this species because they will be migrating soon to spend the winter in warmer climates. I do know that I will miss them once they have gone on the wing to head south.<\/p>\n

I found a lot of other birds yesterday including several immature and adult Red-tailed Hawks but I wanted to share these images of the Turkey Vulture first because I often feel like they are an underdog in the bird photography world.<\/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. Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my flower, shrub and tree photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday I found an adult Turkey Vulture perched on a metal pipe with a field of sunflowers below and it behind it. I liked the pop of yellow in my photos of this bird.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":95035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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":[27,1148,1315,26,5347],"tags":[4004,2663,6627,6098,4008,4322,2649,4098,6518,6028,11914,12286,153,2315,5052,105,5185,2443,30,4618,4617,4307,5063],"class_list":["post-95064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-turkey-vultures","category-utah","category-wildflowers","tag-adult","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-bloom","tag-blooming","tag-box-elder-county","tag-cathartes-aura","tag-common-sunflower","tag-desert","tag-flowering","tag-helianthus-annuus","tag-metal-pipe","tag-pipe","tag-raptors","tag-summer-3","tag-sunflower","tag-sunflowers","tag-tongue","tag-turkey-vulture","tag-utah-2","tag-vulture","tag-vultures","tag-wildflowers","tag-yellow-wildflowers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/turkey-vulture-adult-metal-pipe-mia-mcpherson-1896.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-oJi","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":60021,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/09\/06\/immature-swainsons-hawk-golden-light-and-common-sunflowers\/","url_meta":{"origin":95064,"position":0},"title":"Immature Swainson’s Hawk, Golden Light And Common Sunflowers","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Two days ago I was able to photograph an immature Swainson's Hawk in golden light perched on a fence post that was surrounded by bright yellow common sunflowers. Yes, I was blissed out.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Calling immature Swainson's Hawk and wild sunflowers, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/swainsons-hawk-immature-sunflowers-mia-mcpherson-9405.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/swainsons-hawk-immature-sunflowers-mia-mcpherson-9405.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/swainsons-hawk-immature-sunflowers-mia-mcpherson-9405.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/swainsons-hawk-immature-sunflowers-mia-mcpherson-9405.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":94643,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/09\/09\/other-things-with-wings-broad-headed-marsh-fly-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":95064,"position":1},"title":"Other Things With Wings – Broad-headed Marsh Fly Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"These Broad-headed Marsh Fly photos are twofers. I got the hoverflies and the blooming Common Sunflowers in the same frames.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Broad-headed Marsh Fly on a Common Sunflower, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Broad-headed-Marsh-Fly-common-sunflower-hoverfly-close-up-mia-mcpherson-0315.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Broad-headed-Marsh-Fly-common-sunflower-hoverfly-close-up-mia-mcpherson-0315.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Broad-headed-Marsh-Fly-common-sunflower-hoverfly-close-up-mia-mcpherson-0315.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Broad-headed-Marsh-Fly-common-sunflower-hoverfly-close-up-mia-mcpherson-0315.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":102522,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/05\/20\/world-bee-day-2022\/","url_meta":{"origin":95064,"position":2},"title":"World Bee Day 2022","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"May 20th is World Bee Day and I am sharing a photo of two native bees this morning. The Great Basin Bumble Bee and the Long-horned Bee. Native bees are important pollinators.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Basin Bumble Bee and Long-horned Bee on a Common Sunflower, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/great-basin-bumble-bee-long-horned-bee-sunflower-mia-mcpherson-5561.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/great-basin-bumble-bee-long-horned-bee-sunflower-mia-mcpherson-5561.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/great-basin-bumble-bee-long-horned-bee-sunflower-mia-mcpherson-5561.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/great-basin-bumble-bee-long-horned-bee-sunflower-mia-mcpherson-5561.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":93236,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/08\/13\/blooming-common-sunflower-with-an-ant\/","url_meta":{"origin":95064,"position":3},"title":"Blooming Common Sunflower With An Ant","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 13, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed some birds yesterday morning in the Wasatch Mountains but it was the blooming Common Sunflower with an ant that made me smile the most when I saw it on my screen.","rel":"","context":"In "Morgan County"","block_context":{"text":"Morgan County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/morgan-county\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Blooming Common Sunflower and an ant, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/common-sunflower-and-ant-mia-mcpherson-4653.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/common-sunflower-and-ant-mia-mcpherson-4653.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/common-sunflower-and-ant-mia-mcpherson-4653.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/common-sunflower-and-ant-mia-mcpherson-4653.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":116615,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/10\/02\/female-house-finch-in-sunflowers-gone-to-seed\/","url_meta":{"origin":95064,"position":4},"title":"Female House Finch In Sunflowers Gone To Seed","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 2, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I was tickled to photograph this female House Finch last week in sunflowers that had gone to seed. I liked the finch, the autumn colors, and the morning light.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult female House Finch in sunflowers gone to seed, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/house-finch-female-sunflowers-mia-mcpherson-1442.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/house-finch-female-sunflowers-mia-mcpherson-1442.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/house-finch-female-sunflowers-mia-mcpherson-1442.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/house-finch-female-sunflowers-mia-mcpherson-1442.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":67041,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/03\/15\/memories-of-photographing-a-very-cooperative-turkey-vulture\/","url_meta":{"origin":95064,"position":5},"title":"Memories Of Photographing A Very Cooperative Turkey Vulture","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 15, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The memories of photographing this Turkey Vulture that spring morning have made me feel excited because these vultures are heading north now and soon I will have them in my viewfinder again.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Turkey Vulture stretching its wing, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/turkey-vulture-wing-stretch-mia-mcpherson-9788.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-wing-stretch-mia-mcpherson-9788.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/turkey-vulture-wing-stretch-mia-mcpherson-9788.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/turkey-vulture-wing-stretch-mia-mcpherson-9788.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\/95064","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=95064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95064\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}