Looking for subjects to shoot this morning, I happened to look up and saw a large bird soaring on the wind, headed in my direction. My heart raced a little as I made a quick setting adjustment on my camera, because I figured the bird with the impressive wingspan was perhaps an eagle or at least some kind of hawk.
I was a little disappointed initially when I discovered later that the bird was “only” a turkey vulture (Cathartes aura). After a while, though, the wings and feathers and the coloration started to grow on me and I realized that the turkey vulture has a beauty all its own. (In some ways I might compare it to some of the wild turkeys that some of my fellow bloggers have featured recently in their postings—suffice it to say the turkeys are not traditionally beautiful.)
I’m still working on photographing birds in flight, but it sure is a lot easier when a bird is soaring like this one, not flying at full speed.
Turkey vulture in the fall
Turkey vulture at Huntley Meadows Park
Turkey vulture soaring on the wind
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
You captured their effortless soaring. One thing of interest — you might not to get too close to one. They regurgatate as a defense method. Uck!! I have no experience with this. Great blue herons will too if you go into a rookery.
Yuck. Thanks for the warning. I will be sure to put my telephoto lens to good use and keep my distance.
I never got to go in a heron rookery. Need an umbrella and rain coat/poncho. The herons get upset and fish starts “raining” down. There used to be a rookery on the river with around 500 nests!. We had a small rookery out of town with about 15 nests. Those I enjoyed from the truck.
“Only” a turkey vulture! For me, this is watching something very exotic. I’ve never seen this bird, they only live in North and South America I think. Looks very impressive!
It is impressive. The fact that it eats dead and decaying animals gives it a negative reputation. It also means that you can’t photograph it catching a prey. Fore me it was pretty exciting to photograph a heron catching a fish. Maybe the turkey vulture just needs a new agent and better public relations.
I find vultures fascinating, and think that the fact that they eat decaying animals (and in some parts of the world, also humans) is a natural part of the circle of life. Without them, there would be more diseases, especially in warm countries. We have loads of herons over here, they’re not nearly as interesting… 😉