July 22, 2009. Chevy Chase, Md. Buzzards.

I watched them for almost an hour, admiring their flying ability. Now I know that all birds can fly and we poor humans marvel at their prowess, but buzzards are a breed apart, in their ability to maneuver through the air. I was at the farm, sitting on the deck in a lounge chair overlooking the field, drinking my wine and minding my own business when a buzzard flew right by me about six feet in front of me and landed in a nearby tree. The buzzard was all black, sitting on a branch. The first thing I noticed was the camouflage. I saw him land, so I knew where he was sitting so I could spot him, but unless he moved his head, he was invisible to my eye. He sat on the branch turning his head to and fro across the field, then he flew down to the ground and walked around a small circle. I watched to see what he would do. I felt sure he had spotted some dead animal and would proceed to eat his dinner. All he did was stand there on the field, about five feet in front of my chair.

And then it happened. He spread his wings and flapped them twice while jumping in the air. Once air born, he flapped his wings three more times and began to circle, just gliding in circles but never using his wings other than tilt the angle of the wings. While I watched in wonder. Every circle was higher than the one before and every circle was larger than the one before. Soon he was joined by another buzzard who also soared around the sky, up so high I could almost not see them. It was an amazing display of their ability to fly and the best part was that I had a front row seat.