Image: “Californian Turkey Vulture,” by Audubon, 1840, in Wikimedia Commons … https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Californian_Turkey_Vulture.png … public domain

• INTRODUCTION
• VIDEO BY ALICE
• SUMMARY OF THE VIDEO
  • FEATURE: First Contact with Turkey Vultures
  • SHORT: Songbirds Talk About Turkey Vultures
  • SHORT: Funny Scrub Jay
  • CONCLUSION
• VIDEO CREDITS

INTRODUCTION

Dear Ones,

Here is a three-in-one video. The feature film is “First Contact with Turkey Vultures.” Then there are two Shorts: “Songbirds Talk about Turkey Vultures” and “Funny Scrub Jay.”

There is a Summary after the video …

VIDEO BY ALICE

SUMMARY OF THE VIDEO

FEATURE: First Contact with Turkey Vultures . SHORTS: Songbirds Talk about Turkey Vultures . Funny Scrub Jay
By Alice B. Clagett

FEATURE: First Contact with Turkey Vultures

Hello, Dear Ones. It’s Alice. I Am of the Stars.

I have a story to tell you about when I first got to this park (City of Malibu Charmlee Wilderness Park) mid-morning. I mistook two large birds circling overhead for Ravens. First I started with the Raven Salutation, which is like this: Raven! STRONG Raven! BRAVE Raven! GOOD Raven! … which is what I usually say to get things rolling.

I got halfway through the Salutation, and then I realized they were Turkey Vultures, which feed on carrion. They feed on dead animals. They are scavengers. So my conversation went like this: Raven! BRAVE Raven! STRONG Ra …  Uh Oh! Turkey Vultures!

I was very embarrassed that I made that mistake because the difference between Ravens and Turkey Vultures is very clear. So I was looking down and feeling embarrassed. Then I heard my very first ever word from one of those two circling Turkey Vultures. I was so surprised that it took me a moment to register it.

It sounded like this … from far off, up above: TUR-Key-VUL-Ture. It was a lot like that … keeping in mind that the two high notes … TUR and VUL … are exactly the same height … the same high pitch.

The way the Turkey Vultures intone their words is not the same as the way the Songbirds intone their words. The Songbirds were amused at my feeling of embarrassment, and they then said: TUR-key VUL-tures. When the Songbirds spoke, the syllable VUL was higher in pitch than the syllable TUR. This intonation is typical of Songbird speech.

But the Turkey Vultures had said: TUR-key VUL-ture. When they spoke, the syllables TUR and VUL were at exactly the same high pitch. Do you see the difference? A difference of intonation.

SHORT: Songbirds Talk about Turkey Vultures

I was mulling all this over because a First Encounter is always very cool. I could not get those Turkey Vultures to say their names one more time. They just flew off.

So I talked to the Songbirds about it. They are very talkative Songbirds that speak English here at the entrance to Charmlee Trail that leads to a spot overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Those particular Songbirds are very talkative. They must have been talking with the Ranger or the hikers. Those Songbirds’ English skills are impressive. There is a tribe of Songbirds here that do that.

I was hoping to get the Songbirds’ attention, because I have not been talked to by Songbirds for a long time. So I said to the Songbirds: Why won’t the Turkey Vultures talk? And they said: Repeat! Repeat! Too many times! The Songbirds implied that the Turkey Vultures don’t like it when I repeat words or phrases. I guess it is easy to get on a Turkey Vulture’s nerves. I would say they are rather taciturn birds. They do not like talking much. That is my feeling.

SHORT: Funny Scrub Jay

Here is one more adventure: I was going on a little farther and I heard a rasping sound I thought maybe it was a Fox off in the bush over on the side there. I immediately noticed it was something brand new for me. So I asked: What was that?

There was a Scrub Jay nearby. It thought that was amazingly funny. It started imitating that same rasping sound, only in a slightly different, more nasal variant.

Every time it pretended to be that other wild being, I started to laugh. It must have happened five or six times: The Scrub Jay would imitate the rasping sound, and I would laugh. Finally I just gave up and walked on. It was right funny. I guess I will never know what made that sound.

CONCLUSION

That is all for now.

God bless you all,
And keep you safe,
And be with you
Through all your days.

In love, light and joy
This is Alice B. Clagett … overlooking the Blue Pacific.
I Am of the Stars … and so are you!

Filmed on 28 September 2024 and published on 7 October 2024; youtube transcript edited on 10 and 12 February 2026

VIDEO CREDITS

FEATURE: “First Contact with Turkey Vultures”
SHORT: “Songbirds on Turkey Vultures”
SHORT: “Funny Scrub Jay”
By Alice B. Clagett

Filmed on 28 September 2024 and produced on 7 October 2024
Location: Charmlee Wilderness Park, Malibu, CA

Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0 International – By Alice B. Clagett

My website is “Awakening with Planet Earth” … https://awakeningwithplanetearth.com ..

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0). Attribution: By Alice B. Clagett.
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nature, first contact, birds, first contact – Earth animals,