Sunset Bliss

Posted on March 8, 2015 by MaryALivingston

Sailor in a late winter sunset with ducks on the pond at our place.

Sunrise Bliss

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I love where I live. It’s the perfect time to be a morning person. Simply bliss. 🙂

Eerie Sounds from the Vulture Chicks

Posted on May 14, 2013 by MaryALivingston

It’s Tuesday, time for a Turkey Vulture (TV) update.
The turkey vulture chicks have grown rapidly their first 4 weeks. They are beginning to get their juvenile plumage. Notice the dark brown, nearly black, feathers showing up in the wings and down their backs.

Capturing pictures of the turkey vulture chicks in this deep nest requires some old school photography techniques. Everything is set manually. I preset the focus, set the aperture, shutter, and flash. Then I hold the camera over the entrance to the nest and take a series of shots. I can’t see anything, even if I were to stick my head into the dark deep nest. After the flash fires the first time, the chicks begin their eerie vocalizations. My friend, Rhythm, over at Reading With Rhythm calls turkey vultures “spooky birds.” The ominous sound made by the chicks, plays into that role perfectly.

Turkey vultures do not have voice boxes. They only grunt and hiss. The eerie ghostly sound in the video is the sound the turkey vulture chicks make. No chirpy chickies here.

This little guy was all sprawled out on the nest floor. Must have been a busy day.

The chicks begin hissing a warning…stay away…they hiss.

Vulture Chicks – 3 weeks

Posted on May 7, 2013 by MaryALivingston

The turkey vulture chicks are about 3 weeks old. I was amazed at the lack of odor from the nest cavity opening. Previously, when a parent was in the nest, the smell was malodorous. This time, however, with only the chicks, I was shocked at the lack of stench when capturing this image. Curious because it looks like it should smell bad.

Turkey Vulture chicks at about 3 weeks old.

Bigger on the Inside

Posted on April 13, 2013 by MaryALivingston

Brooding turkey vulture in a 14 ft. hollow of a blue oak tree. This image is a composite of 3 photos.

Peering down the vulture hole, I am amazed at the ability of the turkey vultures to climb in and out of this nesting location. It is fourteen feet from the opening to the base.

It is unclear whether this brooding vulture is on eggs or new chicks. It should be nearing time for the eggs to hatch, if my calculations are correct. On March 5^th & 6^th, I recorded the pair breeding at the entrance and the female retreating inside the nesting cavity. I am making an educated guess that this was around the time of laying their eggs. Most sources site 34-40 days incubation. Sources are vague on the day count, but in all fairness who counts days for vultures hatching? The UStream Missouri turkey vultures incubated for 34 days in 2012.

Both parents incubate the eggs and share in raising the chicks. I do not know when incubation began for this pair.

So for now, all I know is…

Tukey-vultures Are Residing Down Inside Shelter.
TARDIS…bigger in the inside. 😉

Spring Strut

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Strutting his stuff for his lady. Spring is in full swing in my backyard.

UGLY Birds Gather

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Turkey vultures check out a dead rat.

Across the Threshold

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A pair of turkey vultures at the threshold of the nest cavity.

Night Visitor

Posted on February 27, 2013 by MaryALivingston

Early in the night, just after dark, a raccoon visited the turkey vulture nest tree. It climbed up the backside and over the top. Paused a moment at the cavity opening, then was on its way. I worried when I first saw the intruder, a nest raider for sure. I wondered if the vulture eggs would be safe down inside the tree cavity? Will this night bandit be back?
Related Posts
Turkey Vulture Rendezvous
Spying on the Vulture Nest
Vulture Turf Wars
They’re Back
Wings of Autumn

Turkey Vulture Rendezvous

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I can’t help but notice, a few followers have dropped off since I started the turkey vulture posts. There is more to come, and on Friday, I will reveal why I have been stalking turkey vultures.

In the meantime, I must get a better system for surveillance. I mounted an old video surveillance camera to view the turkey vulture nest tree in our backyard.

The video is bad at its best. As a backup, I mounted a wildlife cam on a ladder near the nest cavity. Today, the nesting pair gave quite the display. The footage is highly pixelated with poor image quality in general.

I headed out to retrieve the SD card out of the wildlife cam, but it was knocked askew sometime before the mating.

Any suggestions are welcome for a product that will allow us all to view this pair. They should start incubating eggs soon. Typically, their chicks start to fledge mid June around our area.

I know, I know, somewhere in here is bliss, but who can find it amongst the low res pixilation?

I thought about not posting this video, but figured some of you reading this post might have some suggestions.

Here is the video, great content, lousy quality.