Joe McArdle

😄It happened gradually, over 2 or 3 years. It's a long story, but the short answer is there is almost always food on my back porch.

I've never heard that before. Out on the water, I usually see mixed groups. I'll have to pay closer attention and see if I can pick up on any tension between them.

nap time

Early diners

Bald Eagle on the Susquehanna river. We were both a little too close for comfort. Maryland. 8-14-25 #birds

Baby pictures: Black vulture (born this past spring) Benson MD. August 2025 #birds

Feeding the baby: Black vultures, Benson MD., 8-15-25 #birds

My favorite black vulture family stopped by with their new baby. Benson MD 8-5-25 #birds

Black vulture making themselves presentable. Benson MD 8-7-25 #birds

Thanks Cory! They really are sweet birds. Of course, this family knows me, but even the ones out on the river seem to react favorably to calm, soothing speech tones. (sorry for the delay)

Thanks Cory. It was a good day for bird sighting.

Osprey near the mouth of the Susquehanna river in Maryland. 8-5-25 #birds

She was cool about the pictures, but now she's telling me it's time to move along.

Bald Eagle near the mouth if the Susquehanna river 8-5-25 #birds

Poor thing: those are louse flies, blood sucking parasites that are fairly common for eagles, vultures, and osprey.

Turkey vulture on the lower Susquehanna river 7-22-25 #birds

Black vultures having a little alone time away from the babies 6-25-25 #birds

Yawn: Black vulture, a little over one year old, stopped by for a drink of cool water. The whole family likes to visit. 6-24-25 #birds

Who's this floozy? I suppose you're feeding her too! The black vultures have been visiting more frequently and have finally crossed paths with a resident raccoon. 5-31-25 #birds

Break time.

I hadn't thought of that. I had to put a rubber snake in a spot similar to what you described because the babies kept falling to their death.

Thanks Amanda! They don't make it easy. They nest on tiny islands in the middle of a river. I took it from a kayak, with one leg wrapped around an overturned tree

Cormorants like to play charades to pass the time while they wait for their eggs to hatch. 5-20-25 Susquehanna river, Maryland. #birds

A lot of rat snakes live on the property, and they're great climbers. I've surrounded the shrub with chicken wire.

House finches maybe? Maryland 5-17-25. Birds pick the worst spots for nesting in my yard. This boxwood is barely waist high. #birds

Even though the adolescents can eat on their own, they still beg their parents to feed them. In early March, Mom and Dad had enough of this and begging was no longer tolerated.

The whole family has got serious personality.

Want to make a vulture smile? Tell them how pretty they are. #birds

Who's a pretty bird? I am! 😁 Black vulture, just a bit over one year old. Their sibling and parents sometimes visit too. Maryland 5-2-25 #birds