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Coragyps atratus
Black Vultures are large raptors. In flight, they hold their broad, rounded wings flat and angled slightly forward. The tail is very short and rounded. They have small, bare heads and narrow but strongly hooked bills. These birds are uniform black except for white patches or “stars” on the underside of their wingtips (this can be hard to see in strong light or from far away). The bare skin of the head is black.
Miller Springs Park is a 360-acre park located below Belton Lake, on the Leon River, in Bell County, Texas. It contains diverse riparian terrain, including limestone bluffs, estuarial wetlands, mountain cedar hilltops, and riverside cottonwood stands. Numerous trails traverse prairie-like open spaces and forests of native cedar elm, live oak, and red oaks. Recent floods have created a new canyon that reveals numerous layers of sedimentary rock and fossils. Area wildlife includes white-tail deer, red foxes, coyotes, black squirrels, armadillos, and about 200 species of birds in the course of the year.
As I was taking some photos along the trail, I heard a loud flapping Two black vultures had landed in a nearby tree. The one in particular seemed to watch me curiously.
Spotted on Jul 29, 2013
Submitted on Aug 2, 2013
5 Comments
How well you described that moment ... wish I'd been there.
One of the most fascinating things I've ever seen happened on a late fall afternoon several years ago. Nearly a hundred vultures soared over our house. The setting sun caught the underside of their wings just right, turning them a beautiful deep red.
Yes, late afternoon ... they fly in really-really big, lazy circles. Not because they're hunting. I think they just enjoy doing it. Together. Social animals.
Oddly enough, I enjoy watching them glide by our house. I see them in ones and twos all day, but every afternoon they do what I call the 5:00 flyby, though it's really more the sunset flyby.
Both Black and Turkey vultures roost in the trees down by the dam, where these photos were taken, then ride the up drafts along the lake shore.
Nice portrait. I watch a flock of black vultures ... much to be admired.