When we lived in California, turkey vultures were very, very common. They're easily distinguished when soaring due to the characteristic "tipping" flight and shallow V-shape position of their wings. (Most raptors have a flat profile when soaring.)
For whatever reason, turkey vultures are a lot less common (and therefore more noticeable) here in Idaho.
So it was with some surprise the other day when we saw a pair of vultures land on a couple of nearby telephone poles, one to each pole. It's actually not that often you see these birds when they're not soaring.
Even more interesting, both birds promptly adopted a horaltic (spread-winged) posture, which they do to warm up.
A magpie kinda half-heartedly tried to harass one of the vultures, but the carrion-eater wasn't overly intimidated. (Vultures aren't a big threat to nestlings of other species.)
After a while, the second vulture joined the first one on the same pole.
Then they both flew off, and that was that.
I like having vultures around. They perform an essential service.
If you're driving , be careful. I was leaving a few years ago to go to the store or something. About 1 mile from the house, on my road, one swooped down and snatched up a rotting corpse suddenly and flew over my car, dropping a bunch of rotting entrails on my windshield and the hood. I could barely see through it to get back to the house and wash it all off. But the smell took some time to wear off
ReplyDeleteNot my favorite bird experience. It's best give them a wide berth, especially if they are feasting on or near the road. You never know what any wild creature is going to do.