Lantern Hill turkey vulture

I met my friend Juan this morning for a surveying trip up and around Lantern Hill. He's planning a gathering, later this month, for botanists interested in lichens and mosses, so we scoured the rocks and trees for intriguing species that might prove of interest to lichenologists and bryologists. As we rounded one bend, Juan spotted, on a rocky outcrop, a small gathering of Turkey Vultures. I often see these great-birds-with- inelegant-diets soaring on the Lantern Hill thermals, but it's less common to spot them at rest. This one, when we first saw it, was no more than 10 yards away, so, after taking one just-in-case picture, I calmly tried to get closer. And closer. And closer. It's not easy for Turkey Vultures to get airborne, so maybe that accounts for why this bird allowed me to approach within almost arm's length. Or maybe it was simply savoring the photo op. In any event, after we eyed each other for a few minutes, it opted to hop away to a nearby crag, then take to the sky.