It was below zero cold at daybreak, but the morning warmed to the plus numbers... well, plus single numbers... so, with all due senior citizen precautions, I headed out on a trek. I had my dSLR stowed safely out of winter's way in my backpack, and, by the silage mound of the dairy farm, I would be exceedingly glad I'd packed the good camera. Flying low above the dairy barn were two vultures, and while the sight of these elegant flying carrion eaters is hardly unusual around there, there was something about the way the pair moved that told me: Pay attention. Soon enough, it was obvious why the radar went off. The white wing tips in the shorter, broader wings signaled Black Vultures rather than their infinitely more common Turkey Vulture cousins. Every year we get a few Blacks, but they're always unpredictable, so spotting these invaders from the Southeast—and getting a good photograph—is a good-luck sign, to say nothing of proof that patience and persistence is sometimes rewarded.