Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Buzzards--or really, turkey vultures


We recently returned from Bennett Springs, a wonderful old state park in Southern Missouri I've been visiting for over half a century...it's magical.

This time my poor husband got sick, so I wandered around between checking on him, sketching and delighting in the perfect fall weather.  While the chicken soup I'd made him simmered, I made one last foray to the trout stream near our cabin.  I'd intended to go elsewhere, but as I turned on the tiny park road I noticed dozens of turkey vultures perched in the trees, and turned around to find a place to park!  I scrambled down the bank and found a place to sit beside the crystalline water.

It was amazing to be that close to these big scavengers--one flew up the river at eye level, not 10 feet from me!

This is a popular trout stream, usually busy with fly fishermen; they clean their catch upstream, and these big birds do important work, cleaning up the offal that would otherwise clog the waterways.  They're graceful and almost prehistoric, and always a thrill to see up close...by the time I left it was getting dark and there were many, many more birds perched in this tree and others nearby.

Click on the title of this post for more about these amazing birds...

10 comments:

  1. Aside from Seagulls, Vultures happen to be another of my favorite birds - It's the character I love about them!
    Your painting is stunning! The water is just amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you, Sandra, I love seagulls and crows and all sorts of odd birds.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You capture so much memory in this simple watercolor sketch! Amazing birds, amazing Autumn beauty.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Somebody else thinks turkey vultures are wonderful! Ours just headed south so I have to go vultureless for a few months.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That will be the case here soon, too, Elva! Where my husband used to live in Virginia, at almost the same latitude, they stayed all winter. Odd...

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a lovely experience Kate, and a gorgeous sketch! We don't have these turkey vultures here in South Africa, and I find them utterly fascinating!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh how I love your color shapes and freshness. What a treat to see these fellows!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks, Pam...it was a delightful time. And yes, they were CLOSE when they'd fly up the river past me.

    ReplyDelete

We'd love to hear from you, your questions, comments, observations! Please feel free to comment, feedback is important to us.