As I rounded the corner of one of the remote trails yesterday at Huntley Meadows Park, I stopped abruptly—a large black bird was perched low in a tree almost directly in front of me. At first I thought it might be a wild turkey, but it turned out to be a Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus).
Most of the vultures that I see are Turkey Vultures, which have red heads, and generally I see them soaring high in the sky. When this vulture became aware of my presence, it flew to a nearby tree and looked down at me. I tried not to feel paranoid, but it looked almost like it was going to dive bomb me. The vulture perched in one more tree before finally flying away.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Mike, you are to Huntley Meadow Park as Thoreau was to Walden Pond. Smiles…
Thanks, Bonnie. There are times when I think it would be great if I could have a little cabin there and wake up with all of these wonderful creatures. I like the idea of contemplation and can definitely see some parallels with Thoreau.
I’d be worried too. In that last photo, he looks like he is drooling.
I think that I caused the vulture to leave the dead animal on which it was feeding, which is what you see dripping from its bill.
[…] this past weekend, which explains why the vulture was hanging around. (Check out my earlier posting Black Vulture in a tree to see photos of this somewhat creepy […]