#black buzzard

And thus begins the rivalry between Black Heron and the Black Buzzard.

From Top to Bottom of the Food Chain - January 2020 Alligators are near the top of the Everglades food chain... until they are not. This ‘gator was alongside the road between Big Cypress and Immokalee. He had evidently been hit by a car and made it to the side of the road to die. It must have happened overnight, because when we came by in the morning, his carcass was already bloated, but his skin had not deteriorated sufficiently for the black buzzards to begin tearing him apart. MWM

More things I’ve found while running! I reaaaaaaally want the bu.zzard but of course the MBTA fucks my plans up. I’m guessing the jaw fragment and spine vertebrae are from either a ra.bbit or sq.uirrel? Also a dead de.er I dragged off the road to decompose where it wouldn’t get crushed.

Vulture Fingers - January 2015 No, black vultures don’t have fingers, but the quick way to tell if you are looking at a vulture or a hawk or perhaps an eagle is to look at the tips of the feathers. Raptors such as the hawk and eagle have tight feathers on the ends of their wings so that they can dive at great speeds and still control their flight. Black buzzards, on the other hand, drift on the thermals looking for carrion. The finger-like feathers on the tips of their wings allow them to make slight changes that keep them in the upward flow of the thermal. I took this shot down in Texas in 2015. Images two and three are wide shots of the flock circling as they look for food. This is often what is shown in movies or television as “proof” that there is something dead nearby. That is wrong. If there is something dead nearby or even rather far away, the keen-eyed vultures will swoop down to the ground and wait for a chance to get their share. If the vultures are circling above you, you are still all right. If they come down and hang around close to you, it is time to worry. MWM

Black Vulture on Dead Alligator - February 2021 This dead Alligator was floating in one of the canals alongside the highway which runs through the Seminole community. I didn’t see the ‘gator at first, but I did see several Black Vultures walking along the banks (Image three). The vulture’s white underfeathers are visible in the first image as he struggles to stay on top of the floating carcass. The second image of him flying back to the bank captures a good view of his wings extended for flight. Image three shows three of the vultures who had been attracted by the smell of decay. And image four shows one of the vultures trying to break through the vulnerable underside of the alligator carcass. MWM

Wood Stork and Black Buzzard in Flight - Feburary 2020 The Black Buzzard is a big bird, especially in flight, but it is definitely the little brother in this image. The five foot wingspan of the typical Wood Stork matches and exceeds that of the typical Black Buzzard. MWM

Black Buzzard on Streetlight - January 2020 Black Buzzards are not pretty birds. But this one, sitting on top of one of the local streetlights, somehow managed to look stately. MWM

Black Buzzard - January 2020 I was down at the Billie Swamp when I saw this black buzzard drying its feathers in the early morning sun. It looks almost like it has been posed by a taxidermist after being stuffed and mounted, but it is very real. The sun shining through the white feathers also make it look like it is something other than a black buzzard, but once it put its wings back in place, it returned to its ugly, black self, MWM