Two Black Vultures were hanging around on the ground at the end of the dike along the big pond at Donnelley Wildlife Management Area on Saturday. They were oddly indifferent to human presence, just flying up into an oak tree as I got closer.
It had been a cold morning, just down to freezing, and they both seemed content in the sun as the day warmed up.
This one actually hunkered down on a branch, as if to stay awhile.
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC
November 27, 2021
I love to watch Black Vultures, at least from afar. They aren’t that attractive but are skillful flyers and do a fabulous job keeping dead stuff cleaned up. I was happy to spot this pair perched high in a pine tree.
It turns out as I looked around and heard the distinctive flap-flap-flap of Vultures taking off that there were dozens of them, sitting in and flying around a stand of pine trees.
The cloudy sky wasn’t a great asset to these images, but you can see how the birds arranged themselves.
This last image conveys the massive size of the trees and some of the soaring that was going on.
October 20, 2020
Vultures made a good fit for a silhouette image with those lifeless branches against the grey sky.
And when Eagles appear I absolutely have to take the shot!
Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center
November 5, 2019
The dike where I took Black Vultures sitting in this tree takes a 90 degree turn which gave me a different vantage point for this post’s images. The sun was now behind the birds and it was very hazy.
The outline of the tree and birds is pretty interesting, as is the postion of the two Vultures seen here. The third Vulture is in that clump in the middle in the first image.
It was morning, before 9am, so I was surprised to see these Black Vultures hunkered down in this dead tree. Perhaps they had been the early birds and already completed breakfast.
It was hot (82 F/ 28 C) and hazy, so resting was probably a good idea but some spot that was less exposed to the sun might have been a better choice.
This dead tree has lost a pretty good chunk since the last time I photographed birds here… Wood Storks in a Dead Tree
As we approached the turnaround on one of the dikes in the wildlife management area we were visiting a juvenile Black Vulture stood in the middle of the road. Unfortunately he showed no fear of our car or us and only hopped along a few feet.
Ted finally got out of the car to gently urge him out of the driveway and he flapped/hopped up onto the gate, allowing me to turn the car without worrying about hitting him.
His still fuzzy head and hopping rather than flying identifies him as a juvenile. We walked around the opposite end of the gate and went on our way.
When we returned twenty minutes later he had relocated to the other end of the gate.
Quite regal looking, he ignored us as we passed back by and I saw him still there in the rear-view mirror as we drove away.
A Black Vulture taking a stroll in some black mud.
