Nature's Waste Management

This morning we started seeing vultures and found in the road by our driveway was a dead possum.  A few vultures had discovered the possum with several more vultures coming in.  At one point there were over a dozen of these large birds in the road with several chasing off others that came in.  There were vultures in our oak tree and on top of our roof as well as the our neighbor's.  A sight we've not seen or experienced before.

I went outside to take a few photos and then came back in to finish a journal page I had been working on when I looked up and saw three people standing in our yard and behind our cars taking photos. 

A little bit later when Terry was outside with Miya, he opened the door to tell me there was an eagle out there so I grabbed my camera and once again started taking pictures. 

With several of these large birds still on roof and in our tree (evidently waiting their turn), there were a few vultures off to themselves with one prancing and strutting in the road.  Off to the right of that little display, the eagle had bullied his way into the mix of several vultures who had been picking at the possum dragging the possum over in our neighbor's yard charging any vultures that tried to take it back.....it was quite a display.

This went on for a few hours and with vultures landing on our roof, made quite a bit of noise.  Unbelievable how heavy and loud they are.  Sounded like a pack of large dogs romping around in our attic.

After I finished the page I was working on, I worked this quick pencil sketch of one of the vultures on our roof.

Mars Lumograph 2B pencil in Fabriano Venezia sketchbook