This morning as I was putting the breakfast on the table, two unexpected guests arrive. I grabbed my camera and ran outside to get as close as I could--forgetting the grass was still wet with dew, and ending up with soggy socks and pant cuffs, LOL...
Turkey Vultures! They weren't exactly
our guests, as they were on our neighbor's chimney, but we certainly did enjoy their presence (
I was a lot more excited than the boys, but they were busy eating pancakes).
When I saw the first vulture landing, there was also a crow. I'm guessing the vulture stole the mouse sized creature (seen two pics down) from the crow...
Shortly after the crow gave up his crowing and squawking at the vulture, a second vulture showed up...
After their meal was done, one moved to the roof, and the other began basking in the sun. It sat like this without moving for about 10 minutes, and then it started preening.
They stuck around for about an hour before before taking off. It was amazing seeing these large birds so calm and relaxed. Not skittish or in a hurry like most birds seem to be.
This is one creature I don't mind hanging around! Beautiful to look at, and wonderful critter control.
Awesome! We had a baby Woodpecker on our tree in the front yard at eye level. I have lived in this same house for 20+ years and have never seen a Woodpecker this close to the house. It was fun watching him try and find food on the tree. I took a few photos don't know if they turned out. If so I'll post them on my next blog update. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteA few years back, we had a nesting pair of California Condors across the river (California side) from where we were staying in Arizona. talk about fascinating! That same winter, there were also 17 wild burros, including several nursing little ones, appearing on the hillside daily. Oh....we had a couple of nudists camping out on the CA side, too. We darned near wore out the binoculars that winter ;-) Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos. Of the birds and burros, I mean!
ReplyDeleteWow, unfortunately I don't think we have vultures around these parts. They are very interesting.
ReplyDeleteWe have vultures like that. They sit in the middle of the road and fuzzy eyeball you as if they just dare you to hit them because they know you'll spend hundreds of dollars realigning your stearing afterwards!
ReplyDeleteLiisa~ Woodpeckers are fun to watch, but they can be really loud. We had one living outside of our old house, and occasionally it would try finding bugs in our drainage pipes. Jackhammer anyone???
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Granny~ You are too funny!
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Thomas~ Maybe I'm so fascinated with the vultures (the red-tailed hawks too) because I never saw them back east. I think there were just too many wooded clusters for the large birds to be seen easily...
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Ribbit~ Your comment reminds me of the Gieco squirrel commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB4AXOioCOU