Turkey Vultures at Spruce Tree House Ruins

Turkey Vulture flying in front of Spruce Tree House Ruin

I spent some more time at Mesa Verde this weekend, taking photos of birds at the ruins.

I got there pretty late in the day, about 8AM. The sun was breaking over the lip of the canyon and the grazing light was just illuminating the Turkey Vultures in their roost trees. The ruins themselves were still in shadow.

Turkey Vultures at sunrise, at Spruce Tree House, Mesa Verde

The neat thing about photographing such strongly backlit Vultures was the way the birds appeared to glow as the sun passed through their flight feathers. The birds had colors that you ordinarily couldn’t see, buffs and golds and exotic browns.

Turkey Vulture sunning at Spruce Tree House Ruin

 

Turkey Vulture and ruins, at Spruce Tree House, Mesa Verde

After an hour or so, the Vultures roused from their roosts and flew off for the day. As they were leaving, they would sometimes fly in front of a ruin.  I still haven’t gotten the bird-and-ruin shot that I’ve been trying to get, but I did get a couple few shots that I liked.

After the ai warmd uo and the birds began to soar far above the ruins, I hiked the Spruce Canyon Trail. It was a trail I had not been on before. The trail switchbacked its way down to the bottom of Spruce Canyon.

It was quite enjoyable to be in the cool and shade of the canyon bottom, looking up through the trees and cliff walls to see the Turkey Vultures soaring in the bright sunshine above the cliffs.