[obol] 60 TURKEY VULTURES IN KETTLES NNW of Salem

[JohnPam]

Today I was 15 miles NNW of Salem in the Eola-Dundee Hills looking for a
mysterious woodpecker a friend had seen but not identified. We did not see
it.

I was telling my friend that the TVs were pretty much gone. I had seen one a
few days ago. There were other reports of 6 here and so many there. But,
yeh, I think they are now pretty much "gone" and we might see a rare one or
two left.  Woops, wait a minute. There are a couple there. (My friend looks
through his binoculars.) Uh, John, I am seeing 18 of them! Wait a minute,
there are 23.

Pretty soon we saw another group of 28 and then some smaller 2s and 3s and
5s and...

60 TURKEY VULTURES spiralling upward and slowly drifting southward. My
friend said this was impressive but they were vultures. I said they are
RAPTORS, man! Just say you saw 60 RAPTORS.

There were no CARACARAS mixed in. It did remind me of the Lower Rio Grande
Valley in spring.

John Thomas
back 5 mi N of Silverton (w/ no TVs here)