Soaring Birds

Some birds, such as vultures, eagles and the larger species of hawks are supreme soaring creatures who mark lift, and also pose an interesting challenge:  can you stay with them in a climb?  Big flocking birds like ducks, geese and pelicans may be seen very high, flapping their wings but using soarable lift as well.  Whereas raptors normally hold position in thermals and often disregard us altogether, flocking birds will leave their lift to avoid approaching aircraft, so it seems both pointless and unkind to chase them.  Ravens, for all their remarkable intelligence and aerobatic ability, seldom fly far from the terrain, and they too will flee from sailplanes.  When you see ravens circling, note their exact location and go there, even as they move away.Don’t disregard soaring birds just because they’re flying straight instead of circling.  A bird gliding straight at high altitude is probably pointing away from lift, while one flapping in straight flight at low altitude is apt to be flying toward it…Also, small non-soaring birds zooming around several thousand feet above the ground are up there gobbling insects, and that is ample proof of lift somewhere in the vicinity.