My son Tilden and I stopped along Stevenson Road on Friday morning. Among the dozens of Turkey Vultures, we found two BLACK VULTURES - the first of this species in the Basin for either T or me. The Black Vultures stayed mostly side by side and once came together for a friendly nuzzle.
As others have noted, ID requires attention to the possibility of gray-headed juvenile Turkey Vultures. Having studied The Crossley ID Guide, Tilden immediately picked out one Black Vulture by its bright whitish-gray legs. This field mark, previously unknown to me, is evident in both Crossley's photos and Sibley's illustrations but is not specifically noted in either book's text. We also noted completely black plumage on both birds, as well as the diagnostic wing patches on one bird that briefly took flight. I found that size differences aren't particularly helpful as a basis for ID. Looming impressively in the tree above the compost piles, the throng of Turkey Vultures is worth a look even without rarities among them. One Turkey Vulture had a white wing. What's more, we also got to watch a PEREGRINE FALCON perched incongruously atop this vulture roost tree. After about 10 minutes the falcon took off, made a rather nonchalant pass at some pigeons across the back of the compost facility, then swept 270 degrees over to the edge of the pheasant farm, across the road, and eastward past our car, finally alighting in a distant tree south of the double silos. We left the site at about 9:45 to check the edge of the Dodge Road spruces (no warblers except a Common Yellowthroat); the falcon was still in this same tree when we returned for one last look at about 10:05. Many thanks to Jay for finding the Black Vultures and to everyone for the updates! Mark Chao -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
