Unexpected scene

Oct 31, 2024,00:40 AM
 

I traveled the other day to a meeting in a corporate office building.  While awaiting for people to arrive, I saw some birds at a distance congregating on the building edge.  I thought to myself that these birds look a bit large to be pigeons, so I went to the window for a closer look.  My picture quality stinks so they aren’t clear, but to my amazement these big birds turned out to be vultures (red, bald heads). Moreover, as they were standing on the edge, some of them had their wings held extended and were just swaying left to right in the wind!  It was a very surprising scene for me first because I didn’t expect to see so many vultures out in the suburbs hanging out on a building, and second because I’ve never seen such a scene with a bird standing with wings extended for so long as if just airing themselves out.  I don’t even think it was a mating ritual since a bunch of them were doing it seemingly very nonchalantly not caring if anyone (a female) was looking.

Anyway, this is the closest i’ve come to seeing a vulture(s) in the wild, and it was not the setting I expected.
Wish I had a better camera like cazalea.  This might be the motivation I needed.




  login to reply

Comments: view entire thread 

Turkey Vultures are quite

 
By: myles721 : October 31st, 2024-14:50
prevalent in The Hudson Valley…they are natures trash collectors which eat what would otherwise rot on your property…

That’s exactly what I was thinking!

 
By: ArmisT : October 31st, 2024-05:07
I mean even in myles’ example above they gathered on a tree…but I never would have guessed they’d hang out like this on a building. Even though it was a suburban area, it was still developed as opposed to having a lot of wooded or open undeveloped land. L... 

Quite a “committee” you have there!

 
By: APROchrono : October 31st, 2024-17:50
Interesting fact - in general a group of vultures is called a “committee”. However when feeding on carrion, they are called a “wake”. Traditional English has some wonderful words for a group of animals/birds etc.