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Roosting Turkey Vultures

I often wondered where they went at night. This was taken about 45 minutes before sunrise.

 

Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)

 

Emigrant Lake - Jackson County - Oregon - USA

 

Habitat : Open Woodlands

Food : Carrion

Nesting : Cliff

Behavior : Soaring

Convervation : Low Concern

 

"If you’ve gone looking for raptors on a clear day, your heart has probably leaped at the sight of a large, soaring bird in the distance– perhaps an eagle or osprey. But if it's soaring with its wings raised in a V and making wobbly circles, it's likely a Turkey Vulture. These birds ride thermals in the sky and use their keen sense of smell to find fresh carcasses. They are a consummate scavenger, cleaning up the countryside one bite of their sharply hooked bill at a time, and never mussing a feather on their bald heads".

- Cornell Unversity Lab of Ornithology

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Uploaded on August 31, 2019
Taken on August 28, 2019