vulture sanctuary

[June 2002]

We fled the office to get away from them but alas, vultures were waiting for us here too!

A warm, quiet attic in this remote hospital creates an ideal nesting ground for the local carrion watch. The downy young were being raised on the floor, making a bed from years of crumbled walls and ceiling. Perched overhead, seeming more frightened than her screeching babies, the mother vulture eyed us nervously but never made a move. After a few photos, we left them in peace to enjoy the putrid pile of dead deer mommy had just regurgitated.

No other birds were to be found in these cool green halls, but each corridor led to rooms of 'strange and unusual' equipment. Rusted Edison Dictaphones and Remington 'noiseless' typewriters lay piled on tables like an obsolete office equipment yard sale. Revealed by flashlight in one pitch black room, a Burdick Rhythmic Constrictor rhythmically constricted no more. The only thing left functioning was a steam pipe in the basement, hissing and spitting as violently as the young vultures in the attic.

Special thank you to D.D.