A Turkey Vulture in New Hampshire

John and I started up the long driveway of a friend in New Hampshire and this turkey vulture was sitting in the road. I was all ready for it! It flew into a pine tree and faced to the left. But it wanted to change positions, which it did awkwardly, so that it faced to the right. I love to look at it’s feet and beak, which it uses to balance and hold onto the branch of the tree. John actually took the last photograph of this series. He was closer, on the driver’s side, to the vulture. He did a magnificent job!

Cathartes aura

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Sky Watch Friday: Turkey Vulture

I took a drive on my bird road on Monday. Suddenly from the ditch flew a bird so big that its wing span was wider than my station wagon. I knew immediately that it was a turkey vulture because of it's coloring and size.

On Tuesday I returned at the same time of day. But I got my camera ready and held it on top of the steering wheel while I drove slowly. This was on a Vermont back road where there is no traffic. The same bird flew out of the ditch at the same place. I got two shots of it in flight and pulled over. I searched the trees and saw it perched high in a tree. I used 10x zoom on my Kodak Z710 Zoom camera. I took these photos without a tripod.

The vulture kept an eye on me and after 20 shots it flew away. These five photos are the best of the bunch. They are untouched except for some cropping.

I have returned every day and will continue for at least another week or so. It may return because its food is still there. What was it eating? A dead porcupine and raccoon. These animals were not hit by cars. They may have been shot by kids that live in the area. There was another dead raccoon in the woods a short distance down the road.

When clicked, these photos will open, full size, in a new window.

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