Most people I know detest these creatures, Turkey Vultures. They say they are nasty, disgusting creatures, while I, on the other hand, disagree greatly.

Why? Well, I get the opportunity to view them daily. There is a family of them who roost on a building not far from me, so I see their routines, their curiosity, their daily flybys to check me out.

Their gliding capabilities are astounding, one minute they are cruising by effortlessly, they hit a thermal or an updraft of some sort, and suddenly they are a thousand feet up, just a speck in the sky, which is one of the big reasons I wanted a zoom capable of photographing these and other raptors that fill the sky in this area of Pennsylvania.

This particular bird did just that, floated by my balcony, then suddenly in a minute or so, it was riding high up, and that’s where the show begins, spotting a family member below, this creature went straight into this freefall if you will, it’s speed picking up exponentially as it dropped towards its family member.

These birds are scavengers, and that is why I found this ‘attack mode’ drop interesting. I have never seen one try to take prey in the air, I don’t think they even do that? But, maybe they are capable of attacking another bird?

Regardless, this bird seems to love the speed at which it was capable of reaching, as it brushed by the other bird below and together they circled off, drifting once again.