Bird. BIG Bird! Nice bird . . .

[gridlore]

A really cool sight while on my way to my afternoon shift. As I was driving down Scott, I noticed a big bird over the roadway, really low. It's not uncommon to see hawks around here.

But then the bird banked and it was HUGE. The wingspan was enormous. The bird settled on the wall of an apartment complex across from where I work, and by the time I had parked, it was gone. I did get a good enough look to see this was, in fact, a vulture, one with a prominent red head and neck.

I just looked it up, and I was right. I saw a turkey vulture (Cathartes aura). While they aren't uncommon around here, I've seen one up close in flight like that.

Comments

[marycatelli]

At one job, we had a black vulture sitting in the grass outside the front door, glaring at its own reflection.

A co-worker was considering whether to take another door.

I said that it was a raptor, and I would, just to be safe.

[kevin_standlee]

When I lived in Fremont, I would often walk in Quarry Lakes park, and those turkey vultures nest in the park on the islands in the lakes (safe from predators that way). I would see them flying around the lakes and sometimes they'd fly quite low over me. They're pretty big.