roadkill

 

Okay, so not an appealing title… but I bet it  got your attention, didn’t it? Here’s a chill for your spine:

When super-ugly turkey vultures are circling, it means something is dead. I couldn’t resist taking advantage of a marmot that someone hit within a mile of my house to get some authentic wildlife (maybe I should say wild-death) shots.

About half a dozen vultures were drawn in by the marmot corpse, and my presence disturbed them into flight. All but one, that is.

He was mostly oblivious to me, but I took caution anyway to step forward only when he was busy yanking something out of the body. (Is this getting too gory yet?)

Meanwhile, the less courageous birds used the interval to dry their wings, which had been lightly sprinkled on:

I really wish I could have gotten a closer shot of them! One little noise, though, and the whole flock launched into the sky.

Alright, alright. I’m done. But I really couldn’t resist—the pictures turned out way better than I expected. Here’s a nice, happy, springy picture to settle your stomachs now:

So tell me… can you appreciate my strange subject matter? Or did I completely destroy everyone’s confidence in me?? :)