Oldest and Boldest

Posted on June 22, 2013 by MaryALivingston

This is the eldest of the two fledgling age vultures in our backyard.

This is the oldest of the two fledgling age vultures in our backyard. I think it is pretty cool that we can see clean through its nose.

This vulture fledgling let me get pretty close yesterday. It has been spending most of the day out of the hole, up in the tree, while its younger sibling still retreats to the nest cavity.

It is the oldest and the boldest of the two. I don’t know for certain, but it is about a day or two older than its sibling. I believe it has embraced being the oldest with a certain measure of bliss.

First Flight Soon

Posted on June 20, 2013 by MaryALivingston

The young turkey vultures are fledglings now. Each day they hop up on branches, stretch and flap their wings. I promise some more videos, they have been so active I have a lot of video feed to sift through.

A few shots to hold you over…

The fledglings are about 9.5 weeks now. They stretch their wings often. The downy white is almost all gone. At this age, they have more black in their dark brown than their parents.

The turkey vulture siblings spend a large part of their day out of the nest cavity.

Peek-a-boo, We see two…

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A close view of the cute little fellas. Can you believe how adorable they are?

A wider shot. These babies will not be able to leave the nest until they can climb the 14 feet to the entrance of the hollow cavity.

Mary and Norma

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Mary and Norma

Great day today at the Shasta Wildlife Rescue fundraising event.

“UGLY Birds” to Appear at Annual Return of the Buzzards!

Posted on March 4, 2013 by MaryALivingston

Exciting news, especially for those of you in Hinckley, OH. My new picture book, No Place for UGLY Birds, will be available at EarthWords Nature Shop in time for the Annual Return of the Buzzards!

No Place for UGLY Birds

Not in my backyard
Scotty lives in a quiet little valley where not much exciting goes on. That is, until the day his neighbors decide the turkey vultures are too ugly.
No Place for Ugly Birds – An amusing story with unintended consequences.
Story – 763 words
Turkey Vulture Critter Chit-Chatter™ – 278 words

written and illustrated by Mary A Livingston
32 pages, 763 words

Red Tail Publishing
Hard Cover ISBN13: 978-0-9847756-7-5
Soft Cover ISBN13: 978-0-9847756-8-2

Spying on the Vulture Nest

Posted on February 23, 2013 by MaryALivingston

I am uncertain as to how well this will work. Today Tim and I set up a camera to watch the turkey vulture nest. Since they have already returned to the nest, we set it up at a distance. Hopefully, we can catch them coming and going at the entrance.

The nesting spot is located deep in the cavity of a hollow tree. We measured last summer and it is 14 feet down. We have no way to set up a camera inside of the nest cavity short of drilling a hole in the tree trunk.

After some time, I may mount a camera on a pole and raise it to the top of the nest to attempt to sneak a few shots of the inside; but for now, we will keep it at a non-disturbing distance. So far, no images to share from the nest cam itself…I will keep you posted.

Tim and I head out to set up the vulture cam.

We figured we were close enough. Photos by my niece, Paige Donahue.

Just a few tweaks to the camera angle. Photos by my niece, Paige Donahue

A few final tweaks to secure the camera. Thanks Paige for taking the pictures!

They’re Back!

Posted on February 19, 2013 by MaryALivingston

The pair of vultures in the nest tree. Turkey vultures live in our area year round. In February, a pair claims the nest. I don’t know if it is the same pair each year.

I went out into our backyard to get some reference photos of lighting on the trees. Just as I raised the camera to my eye, I hear an odd squeaky grunt from the west. I did not recognize the creature making such a sound. It did not sound like the call of a bird, nor did it sound like a critter on the ground. Quickly, I lowered the camera for a look.

I saw two turkey vultures tangled in a mating embrace in the nest tree just south of the big pond. I switched the camera to video to catch the moment and only managed to get the afterglow fluff of feathers.

Turkey vultures are very secretive. We lived here for almost ten years before we realized they were nesting in the hollow of an oak tree just south of the big pond. Even more years before we saw the nesting pairs enter and leave the nest.

The hollow of the tree extends fourteen feet to ground level. By the time the chicks can climb out, they are old enough to fly.

The next day, I watched from the workroom for the vultures to return to the tree. I hoped to catch them. Then they came, one after the other into the tree. I turned off the equipment and rushed out. I don’t usually take a rushed break in the middle of the work day, but I was on a mission.

I slipped around a tree to the southeast of their location and waited. The vultures, the aware bird that they are, already spotted me and were staring in my direction. Then they flew overhead and if they had voice boxes, I am sure they would have sounded a laugh.

So it begins, the nesting of the turkey vultures in our backyard. I will keep you posted.

As for me, I returned to work a little more productive after sneaking a little bliss.