Sunday, June 1, 2008

Wildlife Series. #6

Turkey Vulture
Cathartes aura

Want to hear a Vulture? Well, just click here. And, yes, it sounds just as beautiful as it looks!

Again, we're out over Great Falls. The first shot is an adult. (note the red head) The second, immature. (grey head) You very rarely get to hear vultures in the wild. The sound above was taken from an injured vulture in captivity.

These birds, like the herons in a previous post, never fail to give me an opportunity to practice my panning technique. Elbows in, eyebrow pressed to the viewfinder, steady breathing, turn at the waist, don't twists your wrists. And, oh yeah, hold the shutter button down for LOTS of shots! (don't forget to edit!)

You can see these creatures soaring (and not too far overhead) from the observation deck on Olmstead Island within the C&O Canal National Historical Park in Maryland.

This post concludes (temporarily, at least) our wildlife series. Will try to get back to posts of greater variety next week. Hope you enjoyed this brief venture into the wild.

Later!

2 comments:

  1. I like these wildlife series... the vultures, although admittedly an ugly bird, look great in your photos. Nice work, master!

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  2. Thanks Rox!

    These vultures would be a lot prettier if only their wings were red.

    Get it? Heh-heh...red?...wings?

    Good luck to your team!

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