Whenever the USGS Bird Banding Lab contacts me with information from a person who has re-sighted one of our wing-tagged Turkey Vultures, I write them for more info. While the reports from the BBL provide me with basic information about the observation (i.e., who saw the bird, when and where), there’s always more to be learned. And often the observers have photos they are willing to share.
In 2022, I received two reports on Turkey Vulture ES. These became my favorites for the year, one from Candice Szymborski Salser in California and the other from Jaklyn Larsen in Oregon. Candice saw ES at a rest stop during the vulture’s migration north, while Jaklyn observed it on its summer range, 9 miles from the tagging location.
We had wing-tagged ES on July 24, 2014 near the Oregon coast. ES had been re-sighted three times prior to the re-sightings by Candice and Jaklyn. All three of these occurred in spring or summer and were made less than 7 miles from the tagging location.
Below I share the reports by Candice and Jaklyn along with wonderful photos that they provided me. To learn more about our Turkey Vulture research, see Turkey Vulture Tracking and Scavenger Monitoring on the website.
Spring 2022 re-sighting in California
Date: March 12, 2022
Observer: Candice Szymborski Salser
Re-sighting location: Hesperia, California (red arrow)
Tagging location: Near Toledo, Oregon (yellow arrow)
Quoting Candice (July 21, 2022 email). On March 11th, shortly before sunset, my husband and I were in the back yard when we heard a loud noise in the top of a pine tree. We looked up to find several Turkey Vultures perching near the top and additional birds incoming. Because it was nearing darkness it was difficult to get good photos so I vowed to wake up early the next morning and get some photos of our visitors before they flew away.
I was rewarded the next morning with the treetops full of Turkey Vultures greeting the morning sun. Better still was when my husband pointed out that one of the birds in the photo had a tag. Now thanks to you and the USGS, I am the proud holder of a Certificate of Appreciation for reporting my encounter and much more knowledgeable about bird migration and banding efforts. Thank you!
Summer 2022 re-sighting in Oregon
Date: June 19, 2022
Observer: Jaklyn Larsen
Re-sighting location: 5 miles north of Newport, Oregon at Beverly Beach; 9 miles northwest of the tagging location (yellow arrow, map above)
Date: June 19, 2022
Observer: Jaklyn Larsen
Re-sighting location: 5 miles north of Newport, Oregon at Beverly Beach; 9 miles northwest of the tagging location (yellow arrow)
Quoting Jacklyn (July 19, 2022 email). I am an avid birdwatcher and photographer and rarely travel without my camera. I had stopped with my husband and son at Beverly Beach …and was excited to spot the birds on the south end of the beach on what appeared to be a sea lion. I adore Turkey Vultures, and so was happy to see such a large gathering of them. ..there were at least 20 on several occasions feeding at the same time, along with ES.
Note: If you would like to see more of my Blog posts on Turkey Vultures, click on Tracking Turkey Vultures below.