turkey vulture | Mike Powell

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Vulture in a tree

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Cathartes aura, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, turkey vulture, turkey vulture portrait, vulture, Woodbridge VA on March 14, 2023| 7 Comments »

A Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) turned its head to check me out as I walked by it during a recent visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. However, the vulture did not move from its perch, suggesting to me that there was something dead nearby that had attracted the vulture’s attention.

I couldn’t help but think of a joke about a vulture that a friend told me last year—A vulture boards an airplane carrying two dead raccoons. The flight attendant looks at him and says, “I’m sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger.” Sorry—I have a somewhat warped sense of humor and love puns and wordplay.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Vultures overhead

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged birds in flight, Black Vulture, Canon 7D, Cathartes aura, Coragyps atratus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, turkey vulture, Woodbridge VA on December 8, 2022| 2 Comments »

I often see vultures circling overhead when I am walking along the trails at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Although I have gotten used to their presence, I find them to be slightly spooky and I try to make sure I don’t stand still for too long a period, lest the vultures think that I am carrion.

Most of the vultures that I see are Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura), like the one in the first photo. Occasionally, though, I also see Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus). How do I tell them apart? As you can see in the second photos, Turkey Vultures have red heads, while Black Vultures have black heads. In addition, the pattern of the light feathers on the underside of the wings of the two vultures is different. Black Vulture have patches of light feathers near the tips of the wings and Turkey Vultures have light feathers along almost the entire length of the trailing edges of the underside of their wings.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Turkey Vulture up close

Posted in Birds, Nature, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Cathartes aura, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, turkey vulture, turkey vulture portrait, vulture, Woodbridge VA on March 17, 2022| 6 Comments »

I would not necessarily call this Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) handsome, but I am happy with the way that I was able to capture a bit of the bird’s personality in this close-up portrait shot. I spotted this vulture last week as it perched low in a tree just off the edge of a trail that I was following at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Some people are freaked out by the fact that vultures eat carrion, but most people acknowledge that these scavengers play a valuable role in our ecosystems. I am ok with a turkey vulture’s dietary choices, though I would probably refuse to join a turkey vulture in a meal if one of them made such an offer.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Unattended nest

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, bald eagle nest, Canon 50D, Cathartes aura, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, turkey vulture, Woodbridge VA on January 16, 2022| 12 Comments »

The Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) left their big nest at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge unattended last Wednesday and several Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) decided to check it out. I don’t know if the eagles were eating fish in the nest in the past or if the vultures were merely curious.

Later in the day I passed the same nest and both of the eagles were perched near the nest, including the one shown in the second image below. That shot gives you a good sense of how big that nest really is. The eagles have been using it for many years and each year they seem to add on to it. It is so deep now, that it is almost impossible to tell if an eagle is sitting on eggs, but I will be checking periodically for other signs.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Massive wingspan

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Cathartes aura, massive wingspan, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, turkey vulture, vulture, Woodbridge VA on December 18, 2021| 11 Comments »

I often see Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) soaring high overhead when I am exploring Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I have always been amazed at the way that they effortlessly glide for long periods of time without having to flap their wings. I never really appreciated, though, how massive a wingspan Turkey Vultures have, because the the previous times I had seen a vulture at close range, they have generally been perched with their wings tucked in.

On Thursday, I managed to flush several Turkey Vultures that had been pecking away at something at water’s edge. They flew up into some nearby trees and began to preen themselves as they patiently waited for me to pass. I was quite surprised when one of them spread its wings wide open and then glanced back at me over its shoulder. The wing display was impressive.

I also took advantage of the situation to capture a portrait shot of one of the other vultures that was perched on a broken off tree. I not sure that I would call this bird “beautiful” in a traditional sense, but I do like the way that I was able to capture a bit of its personality in this shot—there is even a hint of a smile.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Turkey Vultures in March

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, carrion, Cathartes aura, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, turkey vulture, vulture, Woodbridge VA on March 17, 2021| 17 Comments »

Some people find Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) to be creepy, but I think they are handsome in their own way and fill a useful function in keeping our roads at least partially free from carrion. I spotted quite a few Turkey Vultures on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, some clustered on the ground and some circling in the skies.

The two vultures in the first photo were part of a group of five that were spread across a trail near the partial remains of what looks to have been some kind of animal. I did not want to disturb them, so I gave them a wide berth and continued on my way after capturing the image.

I had no such worry with the vulture in the second shot that was effortless soaring overhead and did not seem disturbed at all by my presence. It probably was my imagination, but at times it seems like the vulture was tracking me. I think I watched too many cowboy movies as a child in which a lost cowboy stumbled through the desert as vultures circled overhead, waiting for him to die.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Only one carrion allowed

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, carrion, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, turkey vulture, turkey vulture portrait, vulture, Woodbridge VA on January 28, 2020| 15 Comments »

Yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge I captured some images of a Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura), providing a pretext for me to repeat a joke I recently came across—A vulture boards a plane carrying two dead raccoons. The flight attendant says, “I am sorry, sir, but we only allow each passenger one carrion.” I confess that I am addicted to bad jokes, especially puns and word plays, and I have been dying to photograph a vulture ever since I read that joke.

I initially spotted the vulture while it was flying and captured several shots, shown below, as it was landing in a tree. Generally I prefer action shots like those ones and I do like the dynamic quality of those poses. In this case, however, I really like the formal, portrait-like pose the vulture assumed as I was taking the first shot below. Somehow, at least in my mind, it lends a kind of dignity and beauty to this bird that most people do not see because they cannot get past the fact that vultures feed on carrion.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Portrait of a vulture

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, turkey vulture, vulture, Woodbridge VA on March 9, 2019| 7 Comments »

It’s tough to get a Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) to smile. This was the best we could manage during our portrait session on Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Vulture wingspan

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Cathartes aura, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, turkey vulture, vulture, Woodbridge VA on March 2, 2019| 5 Comments »

I wouldn’t exactly say that this Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) was handsome, but you have to admit that it has an impressive wingspan display. I spotted this vulture earlier this week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Its spread wing position reminded me of a cormorant, which pens its wings like that to dry them out. I have no idea why the vulture felt the need to do so, but it held its wings open for an extended period of time.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Juvenile Turkey Vulture

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Cathartes aura, juvenile turkey vulture, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, turkey vulture, vulture, Woodbridge VA on November 3, 2018| 5 Comments »

Several years ago, I received some advice that I continue to follow to this day. I was told that if a vulture is circling overhead, as this one was doing earlier this week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, make sure you move from time to time.

When I first spotted this vulture, I was a little confused. It looked like a Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura), but the bird lacked the distinctive red head that I am used to seeing on a Turkey Vulture. After doing a little research I learned that juvenile Turkey Vultures have an ashy-gray head that transitions to red as they mature.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Majestic vulture

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Cathartes aura, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, turkey vulture, vulture, Woodbridge VA on February 6, 2018| 11 Comments »

From a distance, the large bird perched on a broken-off tree looked majestic and I assumed that it was a hawk or an eagle. Zooming in with my telephoto lens, I realized that it was “only” a Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura). It got me thinking about the fact that vultures have a bad reputation—many people are creeped out by the way that vultures circle overhead and eat dead things. For them, the words “majestic” and “vulture” just don’t go together. If you suspend all preconceived notions and examine the bird in this photo (or watch a vulture effortlessly soaring overhead), perhaps you too will find a bit of majesty there.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Autumn vulture

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Cathartes aura, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm, turkey vulture, vulture on October 10, 2017| 10 Comments »

It was dark and overcast yesterday morning at Huntley Meadows Park and became more eerie when a Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) started to circle lower and lower around me. Eventually it landed on the broken tip of a nearby tree.

After closing its wings initially, the vulture suddenly opened them wide and left them open for an extended period of time, perhaps to let them dry—it had been raining earlier in the morning. The wing position reminded me of the Double-crested Cormorants that I occasionally see with wings extended to dry them after an underwater dive.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Juvenile Turkey Vulture

Posted in Art, Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Cathartes aura, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, turkey vulture, vulture, Woodbridge VA on October 2, 2017| 4 Comments »

The early morning light was soft and beautiful, allowing me to capture these images of a young Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) on Saturday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I am not sure I have ever seen a vulture look so handsome (and maybe even a little cute in the second photo).

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Attack of the crow

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Cathartes aura, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm, turkey vulture, vulture on May 1, 2017| 3 Comments »

I was watching a Turkey Vulture high in a tree at Huntley Meadows Park this past weekend, when all at once it seemed to get tense and agitated. Suddenly a flash of black crossed my field of view as I gazed through my camera’s viewfinder.

I had no idea what had happened until I saw this photo–an aggressive crow appeared to be attempting to get the vulture to move. What was unusual was that the attack was not preceded by the loud calls of a crow, nor did there appear to be a group of crows, as is often the case when crows harass larger birds.

The vulture stayed put and eventually lowered its wings. (The second shot shows the vulture seconds before the attack, when it had raised its wings and appeared to be ready to take action if required.)

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Mind the gap

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Cathartes aura, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm, turkey vulture, vulture on April 27, 2017| 3 Comments »

As this Turkey Vulture circled overhead, I couldn’t help but notice the large gap in its wing feathers. Some birds seem to fight with each other, which cold account for the missing feathers, but I don’t recall ever seeing a Turkey Vulture squabbling with another bird. What would they fight about? Territory? Food?

Despite the gap, the vulture seemed to have no trouble flying and its wingspan was still pretty impressive.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Keep moving

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, birds in flight, Canon 50D, Cathartes aura, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm, turkey vulture, vulture on December 9, 2016| 7 Comments »

Whenever a vulture is circling overhead, I like to make sure I move about from time to time. This Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) at Huntley Meadows Park didn’t seem to be paying too much attention to me, but you can never be too cautious, especially if you have not taken a shower that morning.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Turf war negotiations

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, crow, crows, Huntley Meadows Park, turf war, turkey vulture, vulture on February 20, 2014| 19 Comments »

Trying to avoid an all-out turf war, the leaders of the Crows and Vultures agreed to meet, but the negotiations quickly started to break down. What happened?

The leaders had agreed to meet alone in the middle of a snow-covered field.

However, the Crow leader had brought reinforcements with him and the Vulture found himself outnumbered.

Not wanting to show any fear, the Vulture leader decided to flex his muscles and extended his mighty wings. The Crows were not impressed and would not agree to any compromises.The Vulture leader started to feel a little uncomfortable as he felt someone creeping up behind him and turned quickly to face the potential Crow assassin.

Clearly, these negotiations were not going anywhere and the Vulture leader headed back to announce to his subordinates that a full-scale turf war with the Crows was about to begin.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Eye of the Vulture

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, birds in flight, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, Cathartes aura, eye of the vulture, Huntley Meadows Park, turkey vulture, vulture on February 5, 2014| 19 Comments »

A Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) will never look as fierce as a hawk or an eagle and I am pretty sure that “Eye of the Vulture” won’t ever be a featured song in a Rocky movie, but there is still something disconcerting when a vulture circles close overhead, staring down in your direction.

In most of my previous shots of a Turkey Vulture, the eyes have not been visible, but on a recent sunny day, the light was good enough and the vulture came close enough for me to see the eyes, which look a little creepy. Click on the photo to see a higher resolution view of this big bird, with an impressive wingspan.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Gone for a week—not a vulture’s meal

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, Cathartes aura, Huntley Meadows Park, turkey vulture, vulture on December 6, 2013| 9 Comments »

This Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) was circling around me last week, so I followed the advice given to me by one of my fellow photographers—I made sure that I moved periodically as I captured shots of this large bird with an impressive wingspan.

I will be away from home on a business trip starting tomorrow and I am not sure how often I will be able to update my blog. I wanted to alert readers in case they are concerned if they don’t see any movement for me for a number of days—the vultures probably have not made a meal of me yet.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Swooping vultures

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged C&O Canal path, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Cathartes aura, turkey vulture, vulture, Washington DC on February 22, 2013| 8 Comments »

When they were soaring through the sky, the vultures were beautiful, even majestic, but when they started to swoop down toward a nearby location, I couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.

This past weekend, I was walking along the C&O Canal path, approaching Washington D.C., when a number of large black birds started swooping down in my direction. I could tell immediately that they were Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura), because of their red heads and distinctive feather pattern. As they got closer, they veered off toward the road that parallels the path—perhaps there was a recent bit of road kill that attracted their attention.

I don’t know why, but everywhere that I go, I seem to see vultures. In this case it was an urban setting, but I see them often when I am in the wild too. I’m trying not to develop a complex about this, but I do make sure that I take a shower before I go shooting.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Incoming vulture

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Cathartes aura, Huntley Meadows Park, turkey vulture, vulture on February 2, 2013| 10 Comments »

My curiosity turned to discomfort yesterday when I realized that the large bird diving in my direction was a Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura).

In the past, the only Turkey Vultures that I had seen were soaring high in the sky, but this one got close enough for me to see his red head. As he got a bit closer, I realized that his angle of flight would take him farther away from me than I had initially thought. Just to be sure that he did alter his course and head toward me, however, I moved around vigorously to let him know that I was still alive.

You can never be too cautious when it comes to vultures.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Good day for vultures

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Black Vulture, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, soaring, turkey vulture, vulture, wingspan on December 6, 2012| 3 Comments »

Monday was a good day for vultures. It was warm and sunny and there must have been lots of thermal updrafts on which to soar. For a short while, a mixed group of turkey vultures and black vultures circles over my head and I couldn’t help but admire again their impressive wingspans. Remembering the response of my fellow photographer and blogger Lyle Krahn to a previous posting I did on vultures, I made sure that I moved around from time to time. He commented, “If I saw that many vultures overhead, I’d be checking my pulse!”

The lighting was pretty interesting that day, for it illuminated one wing more than another, giving the birds an asymmetrical look. I decided to post a similar shot of each of the two types of vultures so that you can see some of the differences between the two.

Turkey vulture

Turkey vulture

Black vulture

Black vulture

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Soaring on the wind

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged buzzard, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Cathartes aura, Huntley Meadows Park, turkey buzzard, turkey vulture, vulture on November 9, 2012| 6 Comments »

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.

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