Turkey vultures

With apologies to Rodney Dangerfield, vultures "don't get no respect." They're seen as ugly scavengers whose circling appearance in the sky signifies a recent death on the ground. Vultures bring a sense of foreboding and melancholoy to some.
I used to be one of those who was creeped out by circling vultures or vultures perched in trees waiting, waiting...
...But after living for the past 31+ years in the foothills of the Sierras where we share the land with all kinds of wild creatures, I have warmed up to the homely, scavenging, maligned turkey vultures.
More than three weeks ago, a dead deer washed up on the side of the levee forming our lake. I blogged about it in my Feb. 6th post called The dead of winter. At that time I only saw one turkey vulture perched in a tree waiting for me to get out of the way so he could eat. I guess he couldn't keep secret his discovery of the delectable dead deer due to its stench and so now there were four of his feathered friends also salivating high in the oak trees above the carcass.
Getting back to my warming up to and even liking the turkey vultures.....It's partly because they are the garbage collectors of nature. Along with the microbes, beetles and worms, vultures do their share of getting rid of carcasses. I'm all for cleaning up the environment naturally!
Plus the vultures have those big beautiful shiny black feathers and a wrinkly red head that looks ugly to some, but I see it as wrinkly, red, funky beauty.
So...Viva la Turkey Vulture! May they never become extinct.

What's your take on vultures?