Okay this is odd. The Vultures are back.

[JasperFrank]

i use to time the seasons more on the way the buzzards would return and leave. They are very good at knowing how the weather is going to be.
I was a bit shocked today to see our local crew of buzzards return. Its January. They NEVER return in January. That's two months too early.

 

[grsthegreat]

sorry...i thought you were talking about lawyers.

 

[the old grind]

Borrowers.

 

[MossRoad]

i use to time the seasons more on the way the buzzards would return and leave. They are very good at knowing how the weather is going to be.
I was a bit shocked today to see our local crew of buzzards return. Its January. They NEVER return in January. That's two months too early.

what state are you in?

The robins never left this year. I saw them at Christmas, New Years, and even today. First time I can remember that.

 

[JasperFrank]

If only lawyers were as predicable as Buzzards. These Vultures are a mainstay in the realm of predictions. They seem to know exactly when the weather was going into a seasonal change. And here they are in January. They normally show up at the end of March. If the buzzards are saying, its going to be clear and relatively warm from here on out, WE ARE TOTALLY SCREWED AS TO A FIRE SEASON.

I'm in Oregon, very close to where the Holiday Farm fire was.

 

[Texasmark]

what state are you in?

The robins never left this year. I saw them at Christmas, New Years, and even today. First time I can remember that.

Some are down here, second wave, first came preceeding the first fall cold snap.

 

[Texasmark]

Migration is the Grey buzzzard with the fast flipping, stubby, white striped wings, some times I see 3 dozen in the migration flock, a real danger to young calves and other type critters here.

I had a docile Turkey Buzzard, which usually hang around here year round, return annually to the exact spot where they were hatched. Didn't know they did that course I never dwelt into the happenings of Buzzards...er ah Vultures.

 

[jaxs]

I did a little research on Grey Buzzards thinking I might have passed them off as something different over the years. All I found was one living in the far East that eat's insects,lizards and other small prey. Color match's how you described and several travel togeather during migration. I've lived in N C Texas for decades and this is the first I've heard of them. How common is it to see a group and at what altitude?

 

[lman]

We only have Turkey Vultures up here and they're gone now. They usually come back in March.
I've heard of Black Vultures that are further south and I'm wondering if that is what TM is talking about.

Black Vulture Photos and Videos for, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

With sooty black plumage, a bare black head, and neat white stars under the wingtips, Black Vultures are almost dapper. Whereas Turkey Vultures are lanky birds with teetering flight, Black Vultures are compact birds with broad wings, short tails, and powerful wingbeats. The two species often...

www.allaboutbirds.org

 

[DieselBound]

Haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary up my way, except that we had a California Mountain Quail show up mid summer and it's still hanging around (we have Guinea fowl, which might pass for big Quail). ONLY such quail that I've seen here in some 11 years.

Have had wood ducks show up a few times. First time I spotted one (male), and having never seeing one before, I was like WTF is that? Surreal. We have domestic ducks and I'm so used to them being pathetically non-mobile (perfectly clear how the term "sitting duck" came to be) that the thought of a duck up in a tree just completely threw me for a loop.