Thursday, January 29 2009 @ 09:47 AM PST (Read 1047 times)
Over the last few days I've seen small flocks of vultures heading North. They seem to me to be migrating earlier each year, though I don't know if it's my imagination, food, climate, or whatever. The largest flock I've seen so far this year was 16 so the main migration has not started just yet.
From my observations they tend to soar if they can. That is, they will ride a thermal in a circular pattern to gain altitude then, when it tops out they will glide on their way until they find another thermal, by which time they are closer to the ground and more easily photographed. When it's very windy there are no thermals and they tend to flap/fly close to the ground, sometimes level with the photographer. Either way, if you can spot their general direction you can usually drive past them, get set up, and take your photos. From my place SE of Rosamond many of them fly directly overhead towardTehachapi.
Camera settings are hard because their underside is considerably darker than the sky above so you'll either lose detail on the bird or blow out the sky. If you can get them with a dark cloud for a background that will help but it will slow down your exposure time, possibly blurring your photo. I would start with ISO 800 and adjust from there.
Also, they roost at sunset, usually in groups of large trees. Then in the morning they open their wings and sun themselves before starting out for the day. Both times are good for catching them low and slow, but they can be spooked if you try to get too close. One year I was watching a group when someone opened fire with a shotgun and about 100 vultures took to the sky after sunset. In the photos they looked like a flock of dragons in the sky.
All last summer (I originally thought all year) there were some that stayed at Lake Elizabeth, hunting during the day and roosting in the trees along the road at night. I hope to get out there this Saturday or Sunday to see if they're back.
There is some additional information at http://vulturewatch.blogspot.com/ on the Kern County Vulture Watch, though it doesn't seem to have been updated yet for this year.
From my observations they tend to soar if they can. That is, they will ride a thermal in a circular pattern to gain altitude then, when it tops out they will glide on their way until they find another thermal, by which time they are closer to the ground and more easily photographed. When it's very windy there are no thermals and they tend to flap/fly close to the ground, sometimes level with the photographer. Either way, if you can spot their general direction you can usually drive past them, get set up, and take your photos. From my place SE of Rosamond many of them fly directly overhead towardTehachapi.
Camera settings are hard because their underside is considerably darker than the sky above so you'll either lose detail on the bird or blow out the sky. If you can get them with a dark cloud for a background that will help but it will slow down your exposure time, possibly blurring your photo. I would start with ISO 800 and adjust from there.
Also, they roost at sunset, usually in groups of large trees. Then in the morning they open their wings and sun themselves before starting out for the day. Both times are good for catching them low and slow, but they can be spooked if you try to get too close. One year I was watching a group when someone opened fire with a shotgun and about 100 vultures took to the sky after sunset. In the photos they looked like a flock of dragons in the sky.
All last summer (I originally thought all year) there were some that stayed at Lake Elizabeth, hunting during the day and roosting in the trees along the road at night. I hope to get out there this Saturday or Sunday to see if they're back.
There is some additional information at http://vulturewatch.blogspot.com/ on the Kern County Vulture Watch, though it doesn't seem to have been updated yet for this year.