This was a fun, unexpected find! Returning from high altitude, my friend spotted one of these cool birds sunning itself on a pole. Nearby, there were a few others, doing the same. This one had found itself a cool perch on the cliffside. I’ve seen and photographed them doing this many times but never on a natural perch.
While turkey vultures might not win any beauty contests, they perform key roles in the environment. As nature’s garbage collectors, they feed on carrion they find lying around dead like rabbits, prairie dogs and such and are believed to be able to smell the dead animals up to a mile away. In cleaning up the dead, they help to prevent the spread of disease from the carcasses.
