Saturday, October 11, 2008

Camera Critters
Not The Prettiest Bird In The Flock


In my corner of the world there are many rural roads one often finds themselves on. This photo was taken on one of those such roads. As we rounded a bend in the road a small field to the right of the road had been cut. I saw this vulture not five feet from the road. I was afraid as soon as the Jeep stopped he would fly. I went ahead and rolled my window down, readied the camera and in truth probably prayed a little.
As soon as the Jeep rolled to a stop I sighted and clicked. A one shot wonder it turns out because immediately on hearing that click he flew which I knew he would do. I'm reminded of the eeriness of what happened next. Driving away I watched him as he headed for the small river opposite the field. As he flew across and down the river other vultures rose up out of the field and followed to the tree tops. I know there were probably ten or more.
I swear I could hear Hitchcock music playing in the background!

Be sure to click on the Camera Critters Badge to visit our host Misty Dawn and all the other participants posting their favorite critters. You never know what you'll find!

50 comments:

Raven said...

I love watching them fly, though I've never seen one on land like this. Great shot. I never saw the Hitchcock movie The Birds because I read the book and it scared the hell out of me.

Jientje said...

Reminds me of Ice Age ( I saw it yesterday) and now I have this song in my head, "food, glorious food"!!!!

Twisted Fencepost said...

Great picture of an ugly bird. Even though they are not pretty, they are very interesting. I like to watch them fly. Their wingspan is huge.

Rose said...

I must say that that is a face only a mother could love!

I am so tempted to enter your name at Misty's...that is what I do for Neal on sky watch because he don't get home till late that evening. But I won't...just know I am thinking about it.

Shelly said...

Ohh...The Birds...my brother used to talk me into watching it with him - scary! Congrats on getting the shot!

Willard said...

A good post. Not one of my favorite birds for sure, but they do perform an essential function and I would never pass up a chance to photograph them.

Sandy Kessler said...

good Halloween character sandy

bobbie said...

Turkey vultures are not too pretty close up, but they soar so beautifully through the sky!
I do love that music!

Jeanne said...

Great capture. We used to see these birds on occasion where we lived a few years back. Hadn't seen one since so it's a nice reminder. So true not the prettiest bird but still...
This is my first time participating in Camera Critters. Love all the different photos.

Kelly said...

Wow, loved this post! The birds are truly just a face a mother can love, but they really are interesting!

Neal said...

Good catch! I'm sorry but there's no way to say it a polite way .... it's UGLY. :)

Anonymous said...

Weird. Actually it must have been a sight to remember.

Ramblings of a Villas Girl said...

They aren't a very pretty bird, but this is a great shot of him.

Anonymous said...

That's a great shot! Reminds me of Ice Age too:) Mine is posted HERE. hope you can drop by! Happy CC!~

Müge Tekil said...

I believe every creature has its own beauty, so this bird doesn't look ugly to me ... and you made a great shot! Have a nice Sunday! :-)

ratmammy said...

i've never seen a vulture up close, but this one sure looked rather intersting! almost pretty, in a sad sort of way! loved the music...

Dianne said...

I love the Hitchcock music playing!!

I like his purple head.

Unknown said...

This is a great shot. I've been seeing them in groups a lot lately too. I believe they are getting ready to migrate when they do that

George Townboy said...

Good looking turkey vulture!! They don't hurt the living, they only want dead meat. LOL

Jane Hards Photography said...

here is someting quite beautiful about an ugly bird. You've done him great justice.

Carole said...

Handsome fella (not). They always remind me of Snoopy. ;)

Nova said...

nice... thos vulture looks scary for me... thanks for the comment and visit into my swf... happy weekend

Lapa37 said...

They sure are not the most attractive looking birds are they?Thanks for dropping by my blog.

Linda said...

They certainly aren't the prettiest bird to look at up close. But, they do have a purpose. They look much better flying in the sky.

Christy said...

Nice shot of the turkey vulture.

Sherrie said...

Hi!
Wonderful Photo!!! Thanks for stopping by my place. Take Care!!

P.S. Thanks for remembering the name of the movie with John Wayne. It's been bugging me all day!

Sherrie

Lilli & Nevada said...

What a great photo, you got a good shot of it

Gattina said...

He is rather ugly, lol but funny at the same time !

Gattina said...

BTW the knight (of the white horse) was an old farmer with legs like an O ! lol !

magiceye said...

sure has character! and attitude!

Glennis said...

A very small vulture, an extremely ugly bird. Nice photo, I didn't even know you had them in America, I have seen them in India, but much bigger, quite different really.
Greetings from New Zealand, we deffinately do not have vultures here.

Tootie said...

They are a rather creepy bird. But, they play a very signifacant part in nature. :-)

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Carletta: An eerie sight for sure, thank you for capturing that one moment.

Anonymous said...

I don't have a single close up of a Turkey Vulture or any kind of bird larger than a hawk or crow. This is a nice shot.

EG CameraGirl said...

Lucky capture! I've never gotten so close to a turkey vulture.

The birds are gathering in my part of the world. Yesterday I happened upon a huge flock of red-winged blackbirds in a marsh. I could hear them as they were making a huge racket. But most of them were buried in among the cattails and I couldn't get close enough to take a decent photo.

You got a good one, though!

Kerri Farley said...

Great capture of the vulure! They are so graceful in the sky!

Anonymous said...

I totally understand! In Florida you'll see turkey vultures on these sorts of roads all the time...feeding off the road kill. Sometimes their flying off would be too close for comfort...some real damage to a car possible!

Susan Demeter said...

Great photo! My entry for CC is here

Thank you for stopping by :)

Corey~living and loving said...

great story! ugly bird! tee hee
happy CC!

Rambling Woods said...

They are so ugly that they are cute. My birding group adopted (donated) money to care for a TV named "Barf" who had been found and was too habituated to people that he can't be released. And of course TV do barf when upset....

dot said...

Great shot of the buzzard! That movie always gave me the creeps as did all his movies but I loved them.

Misty DawnS said...

Hehehehe you are so funny! I don't know if you were reading my blog or not when I posted my story of the vultures/buzzards... to make it short, Hubs had been very, very sick, and we looked out the window and there were three turkey buzzards sitting on our barn in the front yard. Hubs just said "Oh man, I hope this isn't an omen." It was funny.

Great shot, my friend.

judi/Gmj said...

Wonderful capture, I know the trick of those birds, you just get poised and poof! they are gone.

Teena in Toronto said...

So that's what a vulture looks like!

I played too :)

Gayle said...

Wow! What a great find along the road!

Unknown said...

They are some of the creepiest looking birds. :) Nice going! Glad he stuck around for at least one click.

Heart of Rachel said...

Great shot! I would be intimidated to have a close encounter with one.

2sweetnsaxy said...

Cool! It really isn't the prettiest bird, is it?

Anonymous said...

I can hear The Birds theme too! Great shot!

Heidi said...

Sweet! Excellent chance you got there :) I'm envious! I love turkey vultures.