Turkey vultures

They may not be the most beautiful bird of prey, but turkey vultures play a crucial role in nature's cycle of life. Graceful in flight, this New World vulture is quite the social character.

There’s a lot that’s—dare we say—engrossing about the ways of the turkey vulture.

Large raptor. Appears dark from a distance. Up close, dark brown above with bare red head. In flight, undersides of wings are two-toned; lighter on the entire trailing edge of the wing, opposed to just wingtips on Black Vulture. Wings are held slightly raised when soaring, making a

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A sudden encounter inspires an ode to the Turkey Vulture

I always have scads of images in reserve, most of which never appear here. This series of Turkey Vulture photos was among them. I liked the way the shots came out, and as this is one of my favorite birds, I could not go without sharing them. And what better day to do so than on Christmas, in spite of the possibility of perceived symbolism. The images were made at the Wilds back in November. The vulture was quite cooperative, but I was using the car as a blind and shooting out the window. Had…