7-30-13: Afternoon Photos
Back to vulture stalking. Spousal unit said he went up into the woods and saw vultures roosting all over the place. When they flew off, he said there was a whole squadron of them. I thought he was exaggerating. I went into the woods to take a look. They were roosting all over the place. When they flew off (of which none went far because the venison dinner was still on the ground), I counted at least 20. I think he was right, there was a squadron of them. I asked how many flying objects make up a squadron, Gary say, "24."
I became very curious about turkey vultures, especially since we have so many at the moment. It turns out that they are very social, gregarious birds that then to hang together in large groups. The fledglings usually stay with the parents until early fall, when they migrate to warmer climes.
Oh, and here's an interesting vulture factoid. When turkey vultures feel threatened, they will spit very strong stomach acid at whatever is threatening them. Nice thought.
Anyway, here are some of today's vulture stalking images.
The Muses
Three's a Crowd, Five's a Mob
These are a couple of fledgling vultures taking flight.
Cruisin'
Up, Up and Away
This guy reminded me of the Grand Poobah.
On the Lookout
Here's another fledgling taking flight.
On the Updraft
