Our California drought is getting bouts of wild wet weather. Over the weekend through Monday we received 4 inches of rain at our place. It was accompanied by high winds and power outages.

On Tuesday we heard barking on the deck, however no dog was in view. Sailor was under the deck, barking up a storm. Kinta kept trying to go under the deck and Blitz kept sniffing it in a search pattern she uses for bird hunting.

We didn’t give it much thought, then yesterday morning I blocked the under deck access enough to keep the dogs out and still allow the cat or whatever else was hiding to egress. Sure enough, look who wondered out…

He or she was soaked and tattered. A friend from Shasta Wildlife Rescue stopped by to pick up a donation and we observed the turkey vulture together. It looked old and a bit bedraggled, but appeared to be getting drier and stronger. This time of year, birds are fighting over nesting spots. Perhaps this one took a dunk in the pond during one such struggle, and then took shelter under the deck while the storms passed.

Dogs, being dogs, found it and sounded the alarm. Who knows, perhaps they plucked a feather or two. Lucky dogs, the vulture didn’t vomit. That’s the usual defense mechanism.

Once dried, the turkey vulture safely made its way into a tree to roost for the night. Tap on the any image and enjoy the slide show.

Once it left the deck, the vulture stretched its wings in the yard.

Here’s looking at you.

The tattered wings of the turkey vulture look lacy in an attempt to fly.

The turkey vulture makes its way to the garden area.

Stretched out on a garden post, it’s easy to see the missing feathers.

The turkey vulture airs its wings while standing on a post pile.

A safe place to roost for the night.