Black Vultures

Looking like attendees at an undertaker's convention, a hex of Black Vultures adorns an abandoned building in southern Ohio. I took this shot yesterday, in Adams County along the Ohio River. This species is not common and widespread in Ohio, which is at the (for now) northern limits of the black vulture's range. There are a smattering of hotspots for Black Vultures in the state, and Adams County, especially in the vicinity of Ohio Brush Creek, is one of them.

But Black Vultures are expanding, and overshoot migrants turn up well north of the normal range with increasing frequency, and their numbers seem to be increasing in traditional strongholds.

One still sees FAR more Turkey Vultures, and I took this shot not far from where the Black Vultures were perched. These are all Turkeys. Occasionally Black Vultures will mix in these flocks, but for the most part the two species remain rather separated in their habits.

Black Vultures become increasingly abundant as one moves southward, and if you make a trip to the Central American tropics, it'll likely be the first bird you see upon arrival. It'll be interesting to watch their northward expansion, and see what the status of Black Vulture is in Ohio and other northern fringe states in a decade from now.