Why So Many Turkey Vultures on the Mokelumne River? Oh Yeah...

 Let's face it: Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) can be really creepy. Not so much when they're soaring on the thermals; that's when they are actually beautiful. No, it's when they are perched on the branches right over your head staring at you. It's like they're hoping you'll have a heart attack so they can have some lunch.

I was walking along the Mokelumne River this morning near the fish hatchery just below Camanche Reservoir. I had not yet reached the river and was looking for other birds, but I couldn't help but notice that nearly every tree had a Turkey Vulture perching on the top branches. They were all over the place. So yeah, a bit creepy.

As I got closer to the river I heard odd splashing sounds, and suddenly it occurred to me. It was the Chinook Salmon run! The spot where I was walking is the end of the road for the salmon, as Camanche Reservoir blocks their upstream progress. I wondered if there was a fish ladder, and there was, but it led only into the fish hatchery where workers collect the eggs for rearing in the complex. The fish ladder was closed, presumably because their holding tanks were full, so the upper pool of the river was full of Chinook trying to go farther upstream. And the vultures were waiting for a tasty lunch.

Here's a short video of the fish swimming in the Mokelumne River.

Cute Downy Baby Bird Alert! Well...um...Young Turkey Vultures on the Tuolumne River

You know what? I wasn't always the handsome dashing geologist/naturalist that you see before you now. Let's face it: I was an ugly baby. But you also know what? All babies deserve some love and tenderness, so put aside your prejudices about rotting meat and dead carcasses and give these two baby Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) some well-deserved love and tenderness. The scavengers of our ecosystems have a dirty job, and the world would be a much worse place if they weren't around to clean it up for us.

It's not always a pleasant experience to realize there is something really big in the brush off to your side when walking alone on a trail. The Tuolumne River Parkway Trail is not exactly a wilderness with bears and mountain lions or other menacing creatures, but there is still a moment of uncertainty and doubt when some large animal makes that first detectable motion. I quickly looked around and could see that it was actually a pair of juvenile turkey vultures warming themselves on a fallen log. I've seen an adult in the immediate vicinity in the last couple of days, but I have no idea where their next was located.

So....hold your nose and politely say to the proud parents what lovely babies they are raising. It's the polite thing to do.

Young Turkey Vulture (or a Vampire) on the Tuolumne River

I didn't see many birds on my stroll along the Tuolumne River this morning, and I'm not entirely convinced that this Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) would have seen its reflection in a mirror. This may be the same juvenile I ran across a few weeks ago. I've seen it several times now along the same section of the Parkway Trail. I'm going to start carrying garlic and a cross with me on these walks.

Juvenile Turkey Vulture on the Tuolumne Parkway Trail (and mama needs to talk to him/her about smoking)

My exploration on the Tuolumne Parkway Trail in Waterford had all kinds of surprises this morning. I saw River Otters for the first time in my life, I saw a sparrow attacking itself in a side-view mirror, and there was this, a juvenile Turkey Vulture blocking the pathway. I was turning a corner on the trail and saw a big black thing, and couldn't tell right away what it was. It had a gray colored head, so I mentally eliminated vulture and thought turkey, but as I drew closer I could see the beak more clearly. It was definitely a Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura). A few moments of research back at the house confirmed it. The juveniles don't have the characteristic red heads of the adult vultures.

I'm sure it will learn soon enough to be wary of humans. I was worried at first that it was injured as it didn't fly away as I approached. I waited a fair bit of time to let it decide to move out of the way, but eventually I walked forward and it flew into the brush. While I was waiting, a feral cat came out out of the brush and they studied each other for awhile.

The strange title has to do with what the young vulture was doing when I arrived on the scene. It had something in his/her mouth, and I didn't find out until later on that it was a cigarette butt. That little juvenile delinquent was smoking (sort of)! The concept is a bit funny, but the actuality is a bit worrisome. We leave a lot of trash in the environment, and a lot of it is dangerous to creatures who might get into it. The new trail has been mostly trash-free, but I still have to take a trash bag with me sometimes when I walk.