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 5th & 6th , 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. 😉
Sneaking Bliss 