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Eurasian Griffon - Gyps fulvus


Eurasian Griffon - Gyps fulvus
Photo Information
Copyright: Mark Oxley (MojoUK) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 65 W: 7 N: 328] (1479)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2006-04-02
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon 20D, Canon EF 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6L IS USM
Exposure: f/8, 1/200 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2006-04-03 18:15
Viewed: 1114
Points: 14
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Taken at Eagle Heights, Kent, England where I met up with Terry (wideload) & Adrian (aido). Thanks for making it a very enjoyable day guys.

Size: About 15 pounds, wingspan 8 feet. Small, but bulky.

Voice: Unlike many other species of vulture, the Griffon is able to utter noises. Young make peeps and wheezes.

Diet/Feeding: One of the Old World vultures, Griffons cannot smell. They find food by soaring high, scanning the land for signs of a kill, or for stationary bodies. Often, the vultures will wait on the outskirts of a feeding frenzy, closing in once the mammalian scavengers have gone. Their weak beaks are not designed for ripping open fresh hides. They depend on predators or larger vultures to begin the work for them. Once they can access a carcass, the vultures will gorge themselves. Their crop can hold up to 13 pounds of meat!

Flight: Griffons can soar for 6 to 7 hours, or 100 miles. They often require steep cliffs or mountains to aid them in taking off. It can soar as high as 3300 meters, but has been recorded at hights of up to 9000 meters. Descending on a carcass, the bird can dive at over 100 miles per hour. They are one of the fastest species of vulture.

Range/Habitat: The largest numbers of Eurasian Griffon Vultures are found in Spain, but there are significant populations in Turkey, Gibraltar, and Bosphorus. They favor the more southern parts of their range, and can tolerate inclement weather such as rain, mist, and snow fairly well. Though they avoid wetlands and marine areas, they are very fond of fresh and running water, for bathing and drinking.

Behavior: Griffons are very social, living and nesting in colonies of 15 to 20 pairs. Sometimes more than 100 pairs compose a colony. After feeding on a carcass, Griffons often gather at a watering hole to bathe. They are dominant over most of the other vultures in their range, except the cinereous and lappet-faced vulture.

Life Cycle: Young fledge 3 to 4 months after hatching. Griffons are mature enough to breed after 7 years, and live around 40 years.

Breeding: Griffons pair for life. They build nests of grass and twigs on cliff ledges. Mating takes place on the same steep cliff faces where the birds construct their nests, and the female lays one or two eggs 2 months after mating. Both parents tend the egg. Model parents, the griffons incubate their eggs by night, and shade them by day, as the temperature rises. Incubation lasts from 48 to 52 days.

Status: Griffon vultures are quickly losing habitat as humans increase their use of mammal poisons, and expand more and more into their areas. They also suffer at the hands of misunderstanding individuals who do not know the value of these wonderful creatures. In France, their populations are declining so drastically in that conservationists are thinking of bringing in new griffons to help repopulate the area. The griffon is extinct in much of its former range.
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • aido Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1097 W: 168 N: 1218] (4046)
  • [2006-04-03 18:48]

Hello Mark,
I knew you were going to post a blinder :-) Excellent shot, nice movement in the wings and perfect detail the whole length of the body. Excellent POV, shame the light/sky wasn't better on the day. Great shot mate.
Cheers,
Adrian

  • Great 
  • babak Silver Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 49 W: 0 N: 195] (942)
  • [2006-04-03 19:41]

Very nice shot of a good bird

  • Great 
  • osse Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1029 W: 0 N: 90] (7742)
  • [2006-04-03 19:44]

Hi Mark
Huge bird.well capturd and well done

osse

  • Great 
  • jossim Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1676 W: 5 N: 2144] (11878)
  • [2006-04-03 21:13]

Bonjour Mark,

Bonne capture,l'oiseau est fascinant et la prise de vue parfaite. J'aime bien l'arrière plan avec ce paysage cela donne un effet de grande espace et de liberté.


Merci pour l'envoi!

Joseph

  • Great 
  • edal Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 383 W: 52 N: 413] (1837)
  • [2006-04-04 0:21]

Hi, Mark!
You present a great capture of that mighty bird in flight. An aerodimacs scientist can study from your photo the flight peculiarities of birds.
TFS
Anton

Nice focus on the face of the bird. Nice pose with the wings, they are always so hard to shoot (bird in flight), at least for me. We have "turkey" vultures here which are very ugly birds. This vulture isn't as ugly as our local variety.

You caught the bird in its most forceful appearance. Nice detail and exposure, good camera work.

Greg

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