Butterflies to Buzzards

Stay with me....I'm workin' on the Flying Things PhotoAngle!

How can anyone go from Beautiful Butterfly PhotoEntomologist to Beastly Buzzard PhotoOrnithologist in just a matter of hours? 

I tell you, the WholeWideWeb is an amazing place.  You can Find and Be anything you can Type in Google Search!  Of course, you gotta have SomeKinda Idea to start.

My idea for this post was to keep the Monarch Butterfly Migration Angle going until they actually get HERE for NeatONikon's PhotoShoot.   However, it seems they may have a Weather Delay with Earl and Hermine. 

Hermine!  What kind of name is that for a Tropical Storm?  I need to Google that, I guess!  Anyway, Hermine is dumping much needed rain here in Texas right through the Monarch's Flight Path to Mexico.  So, in desperation I went to my PhotoArchives entitled 'Flying Things', and....yep, you got it....Buzzards!

Now, as the title of this Blog indicates, I'm a Collector, and in order to pull all this Fly By The Seat of My PantsPost together....I Googled....

~Ornithologist - Bird Collector!
~PhotoOrnithologist - Photographer who Shoots Birds!

You'll notice that these Photo's are a far cry...so to speak... from the Macro Shots of the Butterflies in the two previous posts!  I found it much more difficult to 'SneakUp' on Buzzards for that UpClose and Personal photo experience, especially with HiHoney shooing them away from the picnic table.

FYI....As a Collector, I do try and collect as much information on the subjects I photograph. 

If you are CollectInTexas Gal Follower, then you know the drill...InfoTime. 

 If this is your first visit or if you are of a Squeamish Nature, you might want to skip this next bit of FYI and go straight to the Comments!

Buzzards or Texas Turkey Vultures

A large bird, the turkey vulture, has a wingspan of 67–72 in, a length of 25–32 in, and weight of 1.9–5 lb. It has dark brown to black plumage; a featherless, purplish-red head and neck; and a short, hooked, ivory-colored beak. Its life expectancy in the wild ranges upward of 16 years, with a captive life span of over 30 years being possible.

The Turkey Vulture is a scavenger and feeds almost exclusively on carrion. It finds its meals using its keen vision and sense of smell, flying low enough to detect the gasses produced by the beginnings of the process of decay in dead animals. In flight, it uses thermals to move through the air, flapping its wings infrequently. It roosts in large community groups. Lacking a syrinx—the vocal organ of birds—its only vocalizations are grunts or low hisses. It nests in caves, hollow trees, or thickets. Each year it generally raises two chicks, which it feeds by regurgitation. It has very few natural predators. In the United States of America, the vulture receives legal protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.  (from: Wikepedia)

PS...I thought I'd better FessUp to a couple of things I put in this post.

#1...There is no such thing as a PhotoOrnithologist....I made that up to impress Ya'll and any future I may have with National Geographic.

#2...HiHoney and I did not have a picnic on the Buzzard's Buffet table.

#3...I Shot the Buzzards from Afar...Thank goodness for ZoomZoomZoom.