Ominous economy

I saw the committee assembled, the gathering of the members of the board…

The chairman of the board was discussing the reason for their meeting...

The morning tide had brought a bounty for these feathered feasters, and they patiently took turns. The crows and gulls were interested, but kept a respectful distance, if also a disrespectful banter of complaint. My guess is this was an elephant seal, based on the size and what I recognized as two large "flippers" at one end. But I probably won't be getting a closer look than this:

Buzzards gathered for a carrion meal are sometimes called a wake. We haven’t seen their like here-abouts before today. Vast flocks of them are known to have gathered over the battlefields of the past.

Vultures are amazing creatures. These are “turkey vultures”. Their heads are bald, helping to keep them clean while feeding, their stomach acid highly corrosive to help digest putrid carcasses infected with botulism, cholera and anthrax. And don’t get too close because they use their reeking, corrosive vomit as a defensive projectile when threatened.

It’s a vast ocean that surges up against our front yard. You never know what the tide will bring in, but it's a remarkably efficient economy from a certain perspective.