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two days now,  morning then evening….the first time i was out feeding Goats and suddenly they were overhead…LOW….very low and i was so excited!!!!!…..CROWS!  and called out to them with my best Crow Voice but they swooped lower and i saw they were Turkey Vultures.    They were riding the thermals…so still in their flight,  at ease and some would lite in the tallest of Pines,  wavering there on the thin branches.  They are large birds and i read,  the only birds with a sense of smell.  Yesterday i walked down through the middle of the Oak Forest to the Meadow.   Before that i counted by identity,  each Goat.   Called Puppy and Talkie.  All accounted for.  So i walked down…who can know?,  but nada.    So i think they are just gathering.   Like Crows do in New Mex at season change,  to mark their census,  gather information,  strengthen their identification to community.   Some migrate.  But i think,  if i am understanding correctly,  the ones here are considered Resident.  This pic has 10,   so,  judging by this,   there must be at least 40 in this gathering.  Maybe easily more.   Though they are not pretty beings,  it is still…..very reassuring.  That ritual goes on.  Even tho.  And they have added this Hill to their flight pattern.

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16 responses to “not crows”

  1. LaceLady Avatar
    LaceLady

    LOVE this! Flight pattern ~ added to their flight pattern! AH-mazing photograph and set of observations and conclusions! Thrilling.

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  2. Nancy Avatar

    Grace~ Yes, Turkey Vultures! J. taught me how to recognize them by their wing color/pattern when we first met. I have a soft spot for that reason alone. Early days of love will do that 🙂 I recently watched an episode of The Zoo, where they were treating an injured one…so many interesting facts about this less than pretty bird.
    There is a corner near here, where I stop to turn right on my way…there I sit looking …there is always at least 15 turkey vultures, soaring over a big hospital building and a hill with many trees. I get carried away looking sometimes.

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  3. Mo Crow Avatar

    (((Grace))) such a beautiful photograph and observations, I met these birds on the outskirts of Houston where my brother was house sitting one year of all places!

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  4. maria Avatar
    maria

    Grace ” i wasend knowing that Turkey Vultures ( Vaal Gieren ) have the best nose , sense of smell

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  5. jude Avatar

    they are everywhere here, the most common big bird I can say. something died up over the rock wall when we moved in. they were there for days, sitting in the trees. flying over head, screaming in the forest beyond.
    But I love watching them like this.

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  6. Liz A Avatar

    I love to call them buzzards … something about it that makes me smile … and to watch them ride the thermals is a wondrous thing
    they were much valued at our Hill Country house, disposing of dead critters … we had three deer die on our property over the years we were there, most likely hit by cars, then limping onto our land to die … one time a large deer carcass moved 20-30 feet from where we had first spotted it … either coyotes dragged it to a more open spot or the buzzards did … I wouldn’t put it past them!

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  7. Irene Avatar
    Irene

    I haven’t seen turkey vultures here, but I know they’re around somewhere. I love watching the hawks flying around the mountain. They have their choice of critters here…I urge the rabbits to keep moving whenever we have an encounter.
    Yesterday, I hung out with a sunbathing tarantula for a while.
    All part of Mother Nature’s circle.

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  8. Faith Avatar

    They may be less than pretty up close, but they look beautiful flying in your photo.

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  9. grace Forrest Avatar

    yes. here too. Over there along the highway…their
    Places. I was startled to see them here.

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  10. grace Forrest Avatar

    they live among us.

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  11. grace Forrest Avatar

    it’s their Super Power

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  12. grace Forrest Avatar

    the need they fill. is truly amazing, truly Worthy of
    gratitude

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  13. grace Forrest Avatar

    i have walked the hunting path with tarantulas…back in El Cerro Mission, N Mex. Thank you for the memory.

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  14. grace Forrest Avatar

    well…i’m not so pretty up close either. i think of that.

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  15. deb Avatar
    deb

    There are no Street Pizzas in Georgia because we have Buzzards galore. Years ago something was dead in the weeds right where the kids waited for the bus. I asked Jim to move it. He went down there with a shovel and had to argue with two of them who had claimed the corpse for their own.

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