Hi, Tweets

Here, for those of you interested, are the turkey vulture reports for May.
Sorry they're a bit late, but another week in the hospital has put me
behind once again. Of great interest was photos sent to me by a friend of a
turkey vulture chick still in the downy stage and in a proper cave. Over
80% of our western vultures nest in caves. In the east their nesting
habitats are much more variable. Anyway, here are the sightings from
British Columbia and Washington for May 2003 ( a "?" just means no number
was given, unfortunately):

01 -- 5 at Wenzel Slough Road; 3 over Blakely Island
02 -- 1 near the dam at LaGrande; 2 between Alder and Elbe; 3 soaring over
the north ridge along Toppenish Creek; 1 along Hwy 12/mp92, Lewis County; 3
over 1-90 east of Snoqualmie Pass; ? near North Fork of John Day; 2 adults
riding thermals north of Bowerman Basin
03 -- 1 at the Wild Rose Campground; 5 at the Vaseux viewing tower; 1
between Roslyn and Cle Elum; 2 east of Cle Elum; 2 at a dead cow in the
grass on Foster Road near Elma; 3 soaring near Tokeland; ? in the cliffs
and sage above Frenchglen; "several" seen at various point on Orcas Island
04 -- 1 between Sekiu and Chito Beach; 1 soaring near the Elwha River; 5 at
the Toppenish NWR; 5 over Ft. Simcoe; 2 east of Snoqualmie Pass; 17 at the
Brady Loop complex; 3 at Elma; 5 west of Elma; 5 along Rt 14/mp129; 1 at
Madame Dorian Park
05 -- 1 at the Ginko State Park; 8 along Wenzel Slough Road; 13 along Brady
Loop/Foster Roads; 4 south of Montesano; 3 near Satsop
06 -- 1 circling over Gower Point, west of Gibsons, B.C.; 1 north of Kelso;
1 near Woodland
07 -- 1 over Joyce; 4 over Hwy 109
08 -- 5 roosting in a tree and 4 in a plowed field near the Wenzel Slough
Road; 4 over Lost Mountain, Sequim; 1 at Sequim
09 -- 9 west of hwys 12/410
10 -- 1 flying over Capital Forest; 13 along the Brady Loop Road; 3 on
Guemes Island; 1 over Meeks Table; 9 interacting on the west face of Devils
Table; 12 roosting on cliffs above Boundary Lake; ca. 18 kettling over Cle Elum
11 -- 8 over the Capital Forest
12 -- ? .sunning themselves in a dead tree west of Cle Elum; ? near Blewitt
Pass; ? near Cle Elum; 2 at Joyce; 3 circling over trees east of Ocean Shores
13 -- 2 at Joyce
14 -- 1 at Beaver Ranch Flats, B.C. (rare in the area); 1 east of Joyce; 2
at Joyce
15 -- 1 over the lower Dungeness River; 9 overhead between Granite Falls
and Arlington; 1 soaring high over Lake Padden Golf Course; 4 circling west
of Sequim
17 -- 4 over Joyce; 2 over Scatter Creek; 2 soaring over Freeland, Whidbey
Island
18 -- 1 over the Ocean Shores Game Range; 1 near Tokeland; 5 over
Marysville; 2 near Cle Elum devouring a dog-killed squirrel
20 -- 13 over Joyce; 2 going east from Joyce; 1 over downtown Maple Ridge,
B.C.; 2 at Gower Point, Gibsons, B.C.
21 -- 2 soaring and being mobbed by crows over North Bend; 13 at South
Bagley Creek Road
22 -- 4 along Wenas Road
23 -- "ever-present" at Bald Hill, Thurston County; 3 at Pitt Meadows,
B.C.; 7 along Maloy Road
24 -- 2 circling to the south (early) and 3 to the south (later) at Joyce;
5 between Wenas Lake and Audubon Road;
25 -- 8 circling over Quadra Island, B.C.; 2 at Rebecca Spit, Q.I., B.C.;
ca 15 south of Campbell River, B.C.; loose bunches of 3-7 all along the
highway to Lantzville, B.C. (an estimate of ca. 60 turkey vultures from
Campbell River to Lantzville, B.C. [Vancourver Island] on a weekend.); 4
over Greymarsh; 1 at Joyce; 2 east of Packwood; 1 circling a cow pasture in
Gate; 8 along the north fork of Wenas Creek; 2 at Wenas Lake; 2 over the
rail yard in Maple Ridge, B.C.
26 -- 13 between Rimrock Lake and the Oak Creek Wildlife Area; 1 over Blaine
27 -- 1 high over Joyce; ? in Elma
28 -- 1 over Joyce
29 -- 2 soaring on the Lummi Res; 1 over I-5/270
30 -- 2 at the Iona Island Sewage Ponds; 1 over Gibsons, B.C.; 2 over the
lower Dungeness Dike
31 -- 5 southeast of Joyce; 1 over Hoquiam High School; 4 east of Sequim;
2 in Pitt Meadows, B.C.

Thanks, as always, for your much appreciated reports. Hikers: give a look
into caves (especially ones that don't smell good!). These guys nest in
much more abundance than shown in records. Thank goodness they are so
secretive, hence ensuring their population stays quite stable.

Cheers, Diann
_____________________
Olympic Vulture Study
22622 - 53rd Avenue S.E.
Bothell, WA 98021
tvulture at vei.net
http://users.vei.net/tvulture/
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