Deb, Something must have attracted that Turkey Vulture down to your pond, either a source of food nearby or perhaps it needed a drink. I wonder if they eat fish?
We see the Turkey Vulture as well as the Black Vulture here in Florida; they do serve a purpose by keeping the roadways clear of roadkill. I've read that the Turkey Vulture has an amazing sense of smell and can actually smell it's food source from above thick tree canopies! We see only one or two Turkey Vultures at a time but the Black Vultures always seem to be in large flocks.
The subdivision where I live is a large gated community of over 1,800 homes. For the past few years one of the neighborhoods in the community has had an issue with large flocks of vultures roosting atop their houses and causing damage to their roofs by pecking at, and removing shingles from the roofs! I can only imagine the mess they are making on the lawns and sidewalks. Because of the expense that would be involved with trying to remove the vultures and the fact that they are protected by the Migratory Bird Act, the HOA can't seem to do anything about the problem. I'm just hoping those birds stay over on that side of the community and don't decide to come to my neighborhood because we also have shingle roofs rather than the tile roofs of the more upscale homes.
These are old photos from a couple of years ago.
Turkey Vulture flying overhead and one perched on a neighbors roof:
Black Vulture's perched in trees at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge:
