Casting a pellet can be hard work, especially for large birds like vultures.
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Five days ago I spent some quality time with this Turkey Vulture in the west desert. I actually like the rustic setting, even with all the barbed wire (devil wire). The weathered wooden posts and rail are ancient but still sturdy and I think the vulture is framed just about perfectly between the two posts as ‘he’ stretches his wings.
My imagination is active enough to appreciate the shadow of his wing on the post in front of him, which to me resembles the open-beaked head of another bird looking back at him. Complete with eye.
I spent quite a while with this bird and almost from the beginning he was retching in an attempt to regurgitate a pellet. I’ve photographed many birds throwing pellets but never a vulture so I was sure hoping to get lucky this time. The pellet never came but it certainly wasn’t for lack of trying by the vulture. More about that in a minute.
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Near the end of his stretch he put his head down and his tail up and began to retch again. In those first gagging photos his head was in shade but…
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
eventually I had light on his face as he turned his body slightly. I took lots of photos in hopes of catching the pellet coming out, but it didn’t happen.
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Then he jumped/flew up onto the post in front of him. For a moment, in-between bouts of gagging, he actually looked handsome. For a vulture at least.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Some birds, especially some raptors, will scratch upward on their neck with their feet in an attempt to facilitate the forward movement of the pellet in their throat. When this guy did that he was almost in silhouette but we can still clearly see what he was trying to do.
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Here his right foot is still raised after attempting to ‘scratch out’ the pellet. He continued to retch, to no effect. In some of my photos he was retching so forcefully he had his nictitating membrane closed.
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Eventually he gave up and took off. I wish my takeoff shot was a little sharper, but I think it’s sharp enough.
Cornell’s Birds of the World has this to say about Turkey Vulture pellets:
“Pellets less likely to contain bones than those of hawks and owls; tend to underrepresent large carrion items”
I presume that’s because vultures mostly eat easily digestible soft tissue. Putrefying soft tissue. Yum.
Ron
OTHER USERS BOUGHT THIS!!!
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