Buzzards

Actually turkey vultures. Here are some pictures from a rainy morning (May 15) about 10:00 AM of the roost of turkey vultures along West Road in Los Alamos. This road traverses Los Alamos Canyon just west of the bridge and passes the skating rink in the bottom of the canyon. Just uphill of the skating rink on the south side is the vulture's roost. Usually they have all left by 7:30 AM or so and return at dusk. This morning was cold with rain mixed at times with snow, so everybody was staying home. These birds have a 6-foot wingspan. It is fun to watch them ride the thermals up in the morning, hardly flapping at all, and then peel off one at a time at about 50 mph to sniff out lunch. They are one of the few birds with a sharp sense of smell. We were fairly far away for these pictures and even with 3X zoom these views are just a small piece of the full-size pictures.