Turkey vultures are most commonly seen in flocks. They are large, black birds with a wingspan as wide as 6 feet, and they are sometimes mistaken for eagles. However, look for the vulture’s small, naked red head and light gray trailing wing feathers. Whereas eagles fly in a rather flat profile, vultures’ wings form a shallow “V,” and they appear unsteady in the air. Vultures were perceived as repugnant creatures because they are scavengers that eat dead carcasses. But this performs a valuable service as they clean up dead animals from our forests and byways, and laws now protect them. The vulture practices an effective protective tactic: it vomits its stomach contents, which effectively repulses any potential threat!

Vultures used to be classified as birds of prey along with eagles, hawks, and ospreys. However, DNA analysis and more detailed studies of anatomy and physiology reveals they are more closely related to storks, the family they are in now.

Though no turkey vulture nests have yet been found in the Wenatchee drainage, several roost sites are known, including one in Waterfront Park. Look for turkey vultures soaring and circling overhead almost anywhere in the Wenatchee River drainage, from mountain ridge to valley floor.