Date:         Wed, 16 Nov 2005 10:18:46 -0500
Reply-To:     Sam Pate <Spate@BROOKSTONESCHOOL.ORG>
Sender:       Georgia Birders Online <GABO-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         Sam Pate <Spate@BROOKSTONESCHOOL.ORG>
Subject:      Turkey Vultures have been observed by the dozens along the
              Chattahoochee River Valley as they have p
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

Turkey Vultures have been observed by the dozens along the Chattahoochee River Valley as they have passed over Columbus in their southbound migration....over the past two weeks.  One of Sam Pate's Ornithology Classes counted 14 Turkey Vultures and 3 Black Vultures during a 40-minute class session on November 15 at mid-day,  for example.  Students frequently ask ...how long can they  glide without flapping their wings?  Tremendous distances, if the thermals and winds are "just right".   (For something dramatic related to vulture flight, look back at very old NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC magazines for the article about the man who flew twice from Penn. to Tenn.  aboard a powerless glider.  The flights took about one and a half days each!   He rode the thermals during both day and night, and landed back in Pennsylvania! each time.   Early glider builders got many of their ideas while observing vultures and other birds as they flew with little effort or energy loss.  So, the next time you watch  a vulture  pass over without flapping its wings, remember that you could that, too!)      Sam Pate      Columbus, GA   Muscogee County

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