The vulture was 50 yards away...
I took this photo while visiting my brother in Texas. We were on a trip to Milton Reimers Ranch Park in Dripping Springs, Texas. This is a wonderful place to go rock climbing, as they have hundreds of routes between difficulties of 5.5 and 5.14. We were here for our second day in a row, and we were hoping to climb for most of the day.
We were some of the first people to the park that morning, and we were the first car at the trailhead that we sought. As soon as we got out of the car and began to unpack our things, we spotted this black vulture hanging out in a dead tree. The vulture was only 50 yards away from us.
Fortunately for me, I had brought along my camera and tripod. I set up near the car and photographed the vulture with my telephoto lens. It was a good photo, but he was a little far away for me to really capture any detail. We decided to slowly advance forward, and I took photos every 10-30 feet as we approached it.
By the time the vulture finally decided to take off, we were within 10 yards of it. To our great luck, he simply flew around and landed in a tree just a few feet away. That is when I was able to take this photo. Black vultures are not the prettiest of birds, but they do have a captivating look to them. As we watched him take off again, I was able to get a few photos of the vulture in flight. Soaring on the wind, it certainly looked both ominous and majestic.
Soaring on the wind, it looked ominous and majestic
Also known as the American black vulture
Here are some fun facts about black vultures:
- The black vulture can be found from the Southeastern United States all the way down to Uruguay and Chile.
- Black vultures maintain monogamous pair bonds.
- They typically lay between 1 and 3 eggs in a clutch. The eggs are about three inches long.
- The black vulture is also known as the American black vulture.
- They are rarely found in mountainous areas.
- The wingspan of an average black vulture is between 52 and 66 inches!
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