Vulture, Dumb & Dumber-Wind River Canyon, WyomingTwo fat Turkey Vultures in the Wind River Canyon, Wyoming.      The first sign of Spring in the Wind River Canyon is the arrival of the Vultures; they always make their appearance the first week of April, and there is nothing funnier than a Turkey Vulture in the snow!  But, they're difficult to photograph well, as they always have one-of-their-own keeping an eye out for intruders.  This is logical, because they are eating something that may belong to someone else, or may be related to someone else!  Anyway, they're back in Wyoming to pick up the leftovers from winter.

     About a week ago, while driving north through the Wind River Canyon, we spotted two male Wild Turkeys just walking down the side of the road near Windy Point.  These were two huge male Turkeys, probably from the group we had moving through here last fall: Wild Turkeys are new to the Wind River Canyon, and we're hoping that they're establishing the Canyon as part of their territory.  For those of you that have never encountered a Wild Turkey, they're much bigger than the one on Wild Turkey, Wind River Canyon, WYWild Turkeys in the Wind River Canyon, Wyoming. your table.  A big male has the ability to stretch up and look you in the eye, or nearly so, for someone with my height disadvantage!  

     I stopped the truck and pulled out the Canon 7D with the new lens, the 70-200mm f/4, and tried to keep up with these Wild Turkey joggers.  While I've had crazy experiences with Wild Turkey's before, you'd be surprised how hard it is to run as fast as they do, especially when carrying a big lens on a cold morning.  I thought it wise to encourage them to keep off the highway, and they walked up a hillside where even I couldn't possibly follow!  This picture of them was the one I thought was the most fun, let's hope we see them again.  And by the way, Wild Turkey babies are soooooo cute.

    In about two weeks the Bullock's Orioles will start arriving, with the males setting up territories, and displaying their beautiful orange color; they are always a challenge, and are good practice for the breeding Hummingbirds that arrive the first week of July.  So, I guess you could say that you don't need a calendar, just watch for the birds.

Bullock's Oriole-Wind River Canyon,WyomingBirds of Wyoming