Black Vulture Series
Black Vultures have been roosting and nesting in my parents' old barn for several years. My recent trip gave me some opportunities for some really neat shots with one, two, or even three vultures.
I got a bit obsessive.
I had Molly out for a quick potty in the small open area in front of both barns. I heard a noise and looked up to find someone glaring at me from this perch.
This picture is actually of the third vulture, not the first, as I had had to hurry Molly back inside and get the camera. But one by one they flew from the depths of the barn to this perch, then up onto the roof of the newer barn.
I bemoaned the back lighting and they moved for me! To the top of the old barn.
Another day, I was again taking Molly out and was met by these two just a short distance off the porch. My parents have an old dish pan they keep water in for them. In winter the vultures tend to prefer to go up onto the porch and make a mess of the cat water, which has a heater to keep it from freezing. Unfortunately they also like to destroy things. My mother says she thinks they're like little kids and just can't resist touching and tasting and playing with everything new and different.
When I insisted on taking Molly off the porch, they made threatening gestures (which were unfortunately blurry) then flew off to the barns again.
When we walked away from the area, somebody kept an eye on us. They definitely didn't care for a dog around.
My thanks to @elsbeth-upton for help editing this next one. I couldn't decide on the cropping.
And we had one final photo shoot before I left. I saw two of them on the roof when I was out with Molly and couldn't resist trying for some closer shots. They got very upset about Molly that close to the barns, which gave me some nice shots. Although I'm unhappy I never got a threatening shot without missing some of the wings. It was an awkward angle, especially with lighting also a factor.
It strikes me that thirteen is somehow the perfect number of photos for a black vulture series.
Because I think several of these pictures has potential for being interesting writing prompts, I'm entering them in @GMuxx's Contest: Writing Prompt Art Contest.
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Thank you, Bex! I love the fifth photo from the bottom. It is absolutely lovely, vulture notwithstanding. LOL
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Thanks for the mention. Those are some very striking shots. Some of them could easily be very powerful stand alone images without the backup of their series. Great job!
Thank you. Vultures are surprisingly photogenic. I love the contrast of the brooding shots with the cuteness of the one you helped me with.
I loved these photos - and the write-up that came with them. We see these guys all the time but hardly ever this close. Wonderful!
But do you see black vultures or turkey vultures? Apparently my parents had turkey vultures initially but then the blacks moved in. We only saw turkeys when I was a kid.
We see the black ones here - i think they are black... they fly pretty high sometimes. Just circling around up there.
One landed in the yard across the street one day while Kosh was outside. He was fascinated by this huge bird, maybe a little scared. When it left the ground it sounded a bit like a helicopter just starting up. Whoop, whoop, whoop... Koshie freaked and jumped on my leg. Kittens...
Those guys are slightly creepy. Some great photos in here. I don't know that I'd want them on my wall (or on my barn) but you did them justice. Nice pics!
At least there will never be road kill stinking up their immediate area. ;-)
Are there vultures in Denmark @bex-dk ? Or are your parents in a different country?
Thank you. I failed to explain this properly. My parents live in Pennsylvania. So these are North eastern US vulture species. No vultures here in Denmark.
Ah right, that's cool. I didn't know they were in Pennsylvania either.
Both Black Vultures and Turkey Vultures are common in that area. When I was growing up, we only saw turkey, but now there are blacks also. I don't know why things have changed though. Haven't had the energy to research it.