In my grandfather’s 1985 Birds of Ontario, he says this about Turkey Vultures: In most parts of Ontario it is a rare sight to see these big, red-headed vultures soaring aloft with scarcely a wingbeat, tilting from side to side.
In my childhood, you had to go to Rattlesnake Point near Milton to see a Turkey Vulture. These days they have become almost common except in winter. I see them regularly as I drive up the Don Valley Parkway.
Today I had a look at some country roads in western Pickering near Whitevale:
Turkey Vultures appeared several times:
Last spring I was able to get close to one:
Other flyers:
Some botany:
MAILBOX
SPEAKING OF WARBLERS…… from The Guardian.
NATURE POETRY
Beloved Regan,
Thy sister’s naught. O Regan, she hath tied
Sharp-tooth’d unkindness, like a vulture, here!
[Lays his hand on his heart.] (King Lear) – Shakespeare
Miles Hearn
I was going to comment first on the Turkey Vultures, but that reaction got “upstaged” by the remarkable picture of a Reed Warbler feeding a Cuckoo! Seeing is believing, all right–as in the case of the Turkey Vultures, which I am used to seeing in the sky “without” their heads. Seeing their heads this clearly sure brings home the fact that they are indeed vultures, as people tend to think they look. Whew! Great seeing the various birds, and the botany “coming along” as time passes. Thanks, Miles!