2024 may have been the Year of the Dragon based on the Chinese zodiac, but it was definitely the Year of the Vulture for me personally.
Turkey Vultures had starring roles in four of my posts (An Auspicious Day, July 3, The Decency of Vultures, and this one), and made guest appearances in two more (Notes from a Landlord and Vermont).
I saw this particular vulture soaking up the last bit of warm sunshine on October 15. He and multiple of his friends were drawn in by the roadkill coyote that my grandpa took home in order to attract vultures for me and collect the skull for my sister (mission accomplished on both counts).
Currently the coyote skull is sitting in a bucket of hydrogen peroxide in our garage. Once it’s clean, it’ll be painted and hung on my sister’s wall alongside her deer skull.
But I just love how these photos came out–the only thing that could’ve made this photoset better is if he had struck a horaltic pose for me (spread his wings). And I suppose one or two of these shots will make it into 2025’s version of my annual photobook.
