I was laying in bed this afternoon dealing with the flu, or a terrible cold, when I heard alot honking on the street outside my window. One of the squirrels that lived in our tree managed to get himself run over. I had seen the squirrel laying in the street earlier this morning and intended to remove it. Of course I forgot about it. When I heard the honking I looked out the window and saw three large black vultures blocking traffic in the street. They were competing over the squirrel and had a few cars backed up in the westbound lane. That weren't about to move and miss out on an easy meal. I was able to walk right up to them and snap this photo. The sad thing is that on a daily basis this same squirrel would climb up on the window sill to our bedroom and stare at his reflection in the glass. If he was anywhere near the window you could tap on the glass and he would come in close to investigate. He was entertaining. He will be missed.
The American Black Vulture-natures street cleaners. I tried cleaning up the photo a bit, it was kind of gross.
The work that vultures do is vastly underrated. Better them than me, for sure!
ReplyDeleteI've seen black vultures only once, on a birding trip to southern Texas in the mid '80's. We've got only turkey vultures around these parts, and they've all migrated south for the winter.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the loss of your friend.
I saw Turkey Vultures in Bedford but not the Black Vultures.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry about the entertainment squirrel, and am hoping you are recovered before Saturday.
ReplyDeleteOver the past few months I've seen a group of these vultures hopping around in peoples yards taking care of roadkill in our area. I agree with Jon, I'd rather that they clean up the mess.
ReplyDeletePondero-I took the day off work today, and may have to take off the rest of the week. My whole family has the same cold/ flu. I'll let you know Friday whether I can make it to the ride.
Vultures are almost always welcome because of the work they do, unless they are circling over me when I'm out cycling on a lonely stretch of road in Arizona in the summer. Then, not so welcome.
ReplyDeleteI see turkey vultures frequently, but never a black one. They are all kind of freaky, but I think they're underrated, generally. I certainly appreciate the work they do, but I also like watching them soar, even if they're circling over me.
ReplyDeleteGiven the choice, I'd rather have a vulture than a squirrel. Count your blessings.
ReplyDeleteWow so cool! I don't think I've ever seen vultures before. Not sure if we have that kind here in Los Angeles. I've seen some sizable dead animals be taken apart and carried off by ants though. A pretty amazing sight to see.
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