This story was originally published on LincolnChronicle.org and is used with permission. Turkey vultures circled overhead, their blood-red heads alert and large wingspans outstretched as the pungent stench of a decomposing gray whale permeated the beach south of Newport. The 38-foot adult male gray whale had been dead for weeks before it washed ashore overnight Monday, its skin frosted white with bite marks along its flippers and jaw.