Vulture invasion

Ponichiwa
500 post plus club
Posts: 855
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 2:27 pm

Vulture invasion

Postby Ponichiwa » Wed Jan 04, 2017 1:32 pm

I woke up on New Year's Day to what I'm trying to pretend isn't the creepiest omen ever: a multitude of turkey vultures roosting on my roofline.

Photographic proof of some of them:
Image

Now, not to carrion on about it (heh heh heh), but I'd really that prefer these majestic creepy birds roost in the many trees or power poles around my neighborhood. A quick Google suggested that I create "a vulture effigy", but I'm not dead set on that.

Commiseration? Tips? Has anyone else had their lovely abode turned into a vulture roost?

PaulaO
Bringing Life to the DDBB
Posts: 2193
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 4:16 pm
Location: Northern Illinois

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby PaulaO » Wed Jan 04, 2017 2:08 pm

Yep, that is creepy. Where do you live? I'm in northern Illinois and have never seen a vulture. Not that I want to.

Ponichiwa
500 post plus club
Posts: 855
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 2:27 pm

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Ponichiwa » Wed Jan 04, 2017 2:36 pm

It's super creepy!

I moved down to the Houston, TX area last summer, and until December I hadn't seen vultures around my house (or in PA, where I used to live). The joke at work is that the vultures circle the buildings when layoffs are coming; that joke's not quite so fun when they're circling/landing on my own house.

piedmontfields
Bringing Life to the DDBB
Posts: 2735
Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2015 4:41 pm
Location: E Tennessee USA

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby piedmontfields » Wed Jan 04, 2017 2:38 pm

In the South, this can be the time of year of vulture transitions, as first year vultures sort out their locations and migrations are done (with our very warm early winter in TN, this was clearly still happening until recently--maybe that is also the case for you all).

I think vultures are pretty cool, but they are also stinky :-p We often see large flocks of them hanging out in our trees. It's a bit dramatic when they lift off together!

VBOpie
Herd Member
Posts: 188
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 5:56 pm
Location: Southeast Virginia

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby VBOpie » Wed Jan 04, 2017 2:58 pm

There is a house I sometimes pass in my travels that seems to be a vulture magnet. I've never seen anything like it! The vultures perch on the roof, on the ground - everywhere! This house also seems to have an abundance of cats, too. One of the funniest things I've seen is one of the vultures crow-hopping along with one of the cats. I would love to get some pictures, but it is not at a convenient place to stop.

WheresMyWhite
500 post plus club
Posts: 960
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 3:37 pm

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby WheresMyWhite » Wed Jan 04, 2017 4:35 pm

Turkey vultures, as I've recently learned, eat only carrion so I'd be wondering if there is something dead in the neighborhood.

I suspect they won't hang around long.

texsuze
500 post plus club
Posts: 683
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 4:50 pm
Location: Texas, The Lone Star State!

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby texsuze » Wed Jan 04, 2017 4:41 pm

Here in central TX we have black vultures and turkey vultures; they're both extremely common around here. I marvel at their flying abilities. The turkey vultures will puke if they are sitting somewhere and get startled or afraid--like when I walked under the telephone pole upon which a turkey vulture was perched. I dodged the bullet that time! We've had a flock of juvenile black vultures hang out on our chimney in the past. Just resting. They are the garbage disposals of nature and are not a bad thing to have around. My chooks can tell the difference in flight patterns and outlines between the vultures and hawks up in the sky. They are not concerned about the former, but fear the latter, with good reason.

Ponichiwa
500 post plus club
Posts: 855
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 2:27 pm

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Ponichiwa » Wed Jan 04, 2017 5:03 pm

I'm going to be honest with you here: I'm not sure which vultures I have. They've got black faces, but have the turkey vulture wing coloration when in flight. So who even knows.

I'd say they wouldn't hang around very long, but the trees in the property next door have a pretty full roost. I counted 53 of them yesterday. They're everywhere. I think they are eyeing my house because their tree is getting crowded. While I respect the need for space, they've got lots of options that aren't my house-- and I really don't want vulture talons and poop ruining my shingles. My solution has been to run outside and bang a broom on the gutter, which seems to work even if they only begrudgingly take flight. It's a bit less feasible now that I'm back at work though.

I've done a couple canvasses of my property (only 5 acres), and there aren't any massive dead things laying around. I think these guys moved in to the (wooded) property next door because it's got a good view of a fairly busy road that's 1/2 mile away, so they can scope out roadkill as it happens.

Quelah
Herd Member
Posts: 421
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 12:38 am

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Quelah » Wed Jan 04, 2017 6:13 pm

Natures garbage men, they are gentle creatures. I hand raised one decades ago. I don't mind them.

Our local vultures quicker figured out that on Sunday mornings in the summer DH often shoots ground squirrels. They will sit on the fence posts on the hill above the house with their utensils in the claws and their napkins around their necks, and wait for him to go back inside then they swoop down to tidy up.

WheresMyWhite
500 post plus club
Posts: 960
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 3:37 pm

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby WheresMyWhite » Wed Jan 04, 2017 6:31 pm

Actually, the underwing pattern when the wing is spread is different (the light/dark pattern).

Was their head black (Black Vulture) or red (Turkey Vulture)?

Also some slight variations in tail size and shape but can't see that from the photo.

Where are you located (roughly?)

Ponichiwa
500 post plus club
Posts: 855
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 2:27 pm

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Ponichiwa » Wed Jan 04, 2017 6:58 pm

Their heads look like the bird on the right:
Image

But their wings are much more similar to the turkey vulture vs. the black vulture in the pic below:
Image

Confusing.

I'm located near(ish) Houston, Tx.

WheresMyWhite
500 post plus club
Posts: 960
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 3:37 pm

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby WheresMyWhite » Wed Jan 04, 2017 7:23 pm

I'd go with the Black Vulture as I think wing color might have more variation than the more distinct black vs red head.

I'd also be thinking that in south Texas in the winter, Black but that is a more iffy call :)

Moutaineer
Bringing Life to the DDBB
Posts: 2572
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 2:45 pm
Location: Utah

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Moutaineer » Wed Jan 04, 2017 8:12 pm

It doesn't have to be anything particularly large--I had a bunch turn up here when I had a dead porcupine in my arena.

Ponichiwa
500 post plus club
Posts: 855
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 2:27 pm

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Ponichiwa » Wed Jan 04, 2017 8:18 pm

Feels like there's a story there.

I'm not sure what's going on. I had 0 vultures until about Thanksgiving timeframe. Since then, scores of them.

piedmontfields
Bringing Life to the DDBB
Posts: 2735
Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2015 4:41 pm
Location: E Tennessee USA

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby piedmontfields » Wed Jan 04, 2017 9:42 pm

There probably is a story...but try not to take it personally! LOL

User avatar
Chisamba
Bringing Life to the DDBB
Posts: 4518
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 10:33 pm
Location: New Jersey

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Chisamba » Wed Jan 04, 2017 10:17 pm

I get them only for as long as there is something dead nearby. I quite like them. I love it when they stand with wings held open in the sun. I have not had fifty, mind you. At the.most, a dozen.

Ponichiwa
500 post plus club
Posts: 855
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 2:27 pm

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Ponichiwa » Fri Jan 06, 2017 3:48 pm

Vulture update: they're still around. I named one of them Stan but I can't tell them apart, so now they're all named Stan. They appear to be attracted by fire; I was burning some fallen tree debris in a bonfire at the back of my property and they were circling hopefully for hours.

In successful news, I haven't found them on my house again.

Ponichiwa
500 post plus club
Posts: 855
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 2:27 pm

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Ponichiwa » Fri Jan 06, 2017 3:48 pm

Oh! And there are more. Yesterday afternoon they filled the branches of 6 trees. I estimate something in the neighborhood of 100.

Canyon
500 post plus club
Posts: 650
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 6:29 pm
Location: W CO

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Canyon » Fri Jan 06, 2017 7:20 pm

Ponichiwa wrote:Vulture update: they're still around. I named one of them Stan but I can't :lol: tell them apart, so now they're all named Stan. They appear to be attracted by fire; I was burning some fallen tree debris in a bonfire at the back of my property and they were circling hopefully for hours.

They are probably fans of barbeque. Why don't you oblige them and throw a little carrion on the fire? :lol:

For some reason, crows and ravens creep me out more than vultures, maybe because they are so darn smart. But, then I have never experienced 50+ vultures hanging around, either!

Carry on (carri-on?).

Ponichiwa
500 post plus club
Posts: 855
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 2:27 pm

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Ponichiwa » Sun Jan 08, 2017 3:34 pm

Great news, everyone! Cold snap means all my vulture friends moved south (I assume), because it's real real cold and they don't have leg warmers or fuzzy hats.

Two Stans with stalwart souls have stuck around. I can take 2. 2 is an OK number. 50+ is not an OK number.

User avatar
Chisamba
Bringing Life to the DDBB
Posts: 4518
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 10:33 pm
Location: New Jersey

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Chisamba » Sun Jan 08, 2017 4:32 pm

Whatever died has been picked clean, and they are returned to their natural territories.

LeoApp
Herd Member
Posts: 399
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 12:41 pm
Location: Long Island, NY

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby LeoApp » Sun Jan 08, 2017 5:12 pm

Vultures flock together outside of mating season. It was probably just a flock moving through the area.

Ponichiwa
500 post plus club
Posts: 855
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 2:27 pm

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Ponichiwa » Thu Feb 02, 2017 2:30 pm

Update on my vultures. The Stans are still around and growing in number. A closer examination shows that I, in fact, have both kinds of vultures. The turkey variety appears to have first say in perches, which is why I get the black vultures on my house: the primo trees are already full of turkey vultures.

They like to roost around til mid-morning and then take to the skies like the Wicked Witch of the West's flying monkeys. Right around 4:30pm they flock their way back again.

Latest estimate: 132 vultures.

User avatar
Chisamba
Bringing Life to the DDBB
Posts: 4518
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 10:33 pm
Location: New Jersey

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Chisamba » Thu Feb 02, 2017 3:31 pm

Wow, thats so cool. Perhaps a riny but creepy, bit so cool!!!

Kelo
Herd Member
Posts: 388
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 5:42 pm
Location: Texas

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Kelo » Thu Feb 02, 2017 7:46 pm

:shock:

150 vultures would make me nervous too! Toooooo many Stans!

VBOpie
Herd Member
Posts: 188
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 5:56 pm
Location: Southeast Virginia

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby VBOpie » Thu Feb 02, 2017 8:42 pm

Pictures?

VBOpie
Herd Member
Posts: 188
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 5:56 pm
Location: Southeast Virginia

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby VBOpie » Thu Feb 02, 2017 8:48 pm

Pictures!

Ponichiwa
500 post plus club
Posts: 855
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 2:27 pm

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Ponichiwa » Thu Feb 02, 2017 9:19 pm

I'll have to try to get some pictures. My cellphone doesn't really do the whole experience justice... you haven't lived (or have you?) until you've seen countless vultures swooping in to settle in for the evening.

We've reached an uneasy peace. They're welcome to roost wherever on my property, so long as it's not my house or my deck. This last was a late-time edit when I found probably 20 of them hanging out on my patio furniture and deck. One of them left behind a half-eaten sparrow when he/she (Stan-leigh?) flew away. No more, says I. No more.

My border collie is doing a great job enforcing the house rules. My sheltie has opted to stay indoors instead.

Woost2
Herd Member
Posts: 193
Joined: Wed Oct 14, 2015 8:34 pm
Location: Mad Town, WI

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Woost2 » Thu Feb 02, 2017 9:53 pm

Vultures arrive in Hinkley, OH every year on March 15. So likely the migration is prepping in your yard.

I personally got creeped out by a huge flock of robins in downtown Winter Park, FL when I lived there. They were massed on every tree, roof and even the sides of buildings. In every direction. Being a child of the north, where robins are ubiquitous but never in huge flocks, it was a jaw-dropping sight.

Canyon
500 post plus club
Posts: 650
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 6:29 pm
Location: W CO

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Canyon » Thu Feb 02, 2017 10:51 pm

132 is a bunch of big birds! I imagine they are leaving behind a bunch of poo, also. Ick!

User avatar
Flight
Bringing Life to the DDBB
Posts: 1834
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 11:39 pm
Location: Australia

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Flight » Thu Feb 02, 2017 11:19 pm

Wow that's a lot of big birds!! I'd be a bit freaked out!!

amygdala
Herd Member
Posts: 166
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 10:43 pm

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby amygdala » Thu Feb 02, 2017 11:22 pm

pictures! pictures! pictures!

Ponichiwa
500 post plus club
Posts: 855
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 2:27 pm

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Ponichiwa » Fri Feb 03, 2017 12:03 am

This is about half of them.

Image

All those dark blobs in the trees? Yeah. Vultures. Every single one. Probably about 70 in that picture, more to the left and to the right. Luckily they're not exactly on my property, so I don't have to deal with the poop. But they're a lot closer than I'd anticipated I'd ever be to scores of vultures.

According to Wikipedia, I really should be calling them a kettle or a committee:
A group of vultures is called a wake, committee, venue, kettle, or volt. The term kettle refers to vultures in flight, while committee, volt, and venue refer to vultures resting in trees. Wake is reserved for a group of vultures that are feeding.


Learning new things every day, I guess.

Kyra's Mom
500 post plus club
Posts: 859
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2015 2:04 am
Location: Sunny? Southern Idaho

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Kyra's Mom » Fri Feb 03, 2017 6:01 am

We had a similar invasion a couple summers ago...only they were hawks of some kind...I think Swainson's hawks. For about 10 days there were literally hundreds of birds riding the thermals above the hay fields looking for lunch. You could find a Hawknado (up to a hundred birds circling and rising on the hot air--I counted!) any time of the day. It was amazing to watch. I didn't get a good picture of that though. They would get so high before they broke off and drifted back down toward the ground.

The trees looked similar to yours but these birds were definitely not vultures.

Image

Image

Susan
from susamorg on the UDBB

kande50
Bringing Life to the DDBB
Posts: 1781
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 7:28 pm
Location: Williamstown, MA

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby kande50 » Fri Feb 03, 2017 11:51 am

Geez, all we ever get are starlings,pigeons and sparrows. The starlings aren't a problem because they only come at night to roost in the indoor. The pigeons however, like to nest in the indoor, and while the population is small in the spring it increases so much during the summer that I finally kicked them out because they got too messy.

Fortunately, our small vulture population likes to roost on our neighbor's vacation home deck, so we don't get any of their mess, and the crows that congregate to roost seem to like an area in a neighboring town, which may be because it's a little warmer there?

Tarlo Farm
500 post plus club
Posts: 866
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 5:20 pm
Location: NW Michigan

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Tarlo Farm » Fri Feb 03, 2017 3:26 pm

Turkey vultures migrate up to Michigan every spring, usually in late March or early April, then return south in October. Thank goodness for them! They eat roadkill and other carrion left in the fields. In my opinion, they are VERY ugly. And huge! And they do often choose a favorite roosting spot for the summer. Not at all uncommon to find dozens sitting either on top of a building or roosting in a (typically creepy, tangled) tree. Last spring I was at an lakeside party in late March. At sunset we were fooling around with a drone camera and a flock of vultures came in pretty low over the lake flying south to north. We tried to get close enough to get some shots in the air, but they were too fast. Heading to their summer roosts!

texsuze
500 post plus club
Posts: 683
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 4:50 pm
Location: Texas, The Lone Star State!

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby texsuze » Fri Feb 03, 2017 6:26 pm

Enjoy your invasion by committee!

Reiter
Greenie
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2015 6:56 am

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Reiter » Mon Feb 06, 2017 4:57 pm

Looks like black vultures in your photo.

Opie...black vultures WILL hunt live prey, and a vulture hopping along with a cat is in the process of killing it to eat it. Sounds like that old house may be a colony cat area, so the vultures are taking advantage of an easy food source. The black vultures are much more aggressive than turkey vultures, and often watch TV's to see where carrion is being scented out or fed upon, and then they will drive off the TV's.

BV's also will attack calves, lambs, piglets and other newborn or very young, vulnerable animals. They attempt to kill and begin eating these animals eyes and noses and the animals usually must be put down due to the extent of their injuries if they survive the birds. Fortunately, these are isolated groups of birds and the damage is not entirely widespread, but that is changing as the birds grow in number. Currently, about 4-5,000 BV's are killed each year under federal permits to eliminate them. To put this in perspective, permits are issued for about 100,000 canada geese annually. Like geese, there are techniques to drive them out of an area and prevent damage, so states are beginning to put those preventive methods in place when vultures first appear.

They also do tremendous damage to vehicles, boats, anything that has vinyl or the rubber stripping/seals. They will attack and strip out the lining on car door frames for example. Their sense of smell is superb and apparently there is a scent that emanates from these materials or the glues used on cars, boats, rv's etc, that mimics some chemicals naturally emanating from decaying carcasses. Their claws also damage surfaces and their feces is very corrosive on many surfaces including materials on rooftops.

Black vultures have always had a southern range, but they are adaptable and have been moving northward for past 15 years, and are becoming more prevalent in midwest, for example. About 20 states have folks apply for depradation permits each year for vultures.

Having said all this, they are amazing birds with fascinating adaptations, and play an important role along with turkey vultures in keeping the landscape free of a lot of disease.

The key to peaceful coexistence with them is to understand the damage and potential danger to small pets and young animals, and when vultures begin to congregate, watch their behavior very closely and be prepared to use hazing techniques if it appears they are settling in an area for a period of time longer than the few days it takes them to consume a deer carcass or whatnot.

Here's a link to USFWS Migratory Bird Southeast region office info on Black Vultures and preventing conflicts with them:

https://www.fws.gov/southeast/birds/black-vulture/

Ponichiwa
500 post plus club
Posts: 855
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 2:27 pm

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Ponichiwa » Mon Feb 13, 2017 1:13 pm

Yesterday morning I found 3 of them roosting on my car and leaving massive vulture poops on my poor Mini's hood.

THIS MEANS WAAAAAR.

Racetrackreject
500 post plus club
Posts: 503
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 1:28 pm
Location: The green and hilly part of Texas

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Racetrackreject » Mon Feb 13, 2017 3:15 pm

I live in Texas, just about 2 hours from Houston, and I've seen these guys camp out like this during calving season. They clean up the birth remains and stillborn or sick babies. Are you in a rural enough area where there are herds of cattle? (Sorry, you have covered this but I didn't read the whole thread :O )

I currently have a lovesick bluebird crapping all over the side of my truck and side mirror, flirting with himself in the side mirror on the passenger side..lol.

texsuze
500 post plus club
Posts: 683
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 4:50 pm
Location: Texas, The Lone Star State!

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby texsuze » Mon Feb 13, 2017 6:54 pm

Ponichiwa,
I'd like to suggest you get in touch with someone at Houston Audubon to look for a sensible remedy to the situation:

http://houstonaudubon.org/about/contact.html

And for those experiencing vehicular window/mirror aggression by male birds, I'd suggest throwing an old towel over the reflective surface(s) when vehicle sits parked. Poor birds are only doing their thing. Let's give them all a break. Spring doesn't last forever.

User avatar
Chisamba
Bringing Life to the DDBB
Posts: 4518
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 10:33 pm
Location: New Jersey

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Chisamba » Tue Feb 14, 2017 11:05 am

At least its not a horned sheep seeing his reflection in the door!!.

G00d idea about the towels.
Last edited by Chisamba on Wed Feb 15, 2017 12:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

piedmontfields
Bringing Life to the DDBB
Posts: 2735
Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2015 4:41 pm
Location: E Tennessee USA

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby piedmontfields » Wed Feb 15, 2017 3:06 am

Let us know how it is going, Ponichiwa! This is way more intense than 10 vultures in a tree on our 20 acre property some times of year. I like the Audubon suggestion---they should know about the behavior of these birds.

Moutaineer
Bringing Life to the DDBB
Posts: 2572
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 2:45 pm
Location: Utah

Re: Vulture invasion

Postby Moutaineer » Wed Feb 15, 2017 3:59 am

This would be wierding even me out by now!


Return to “The Observation Lounge/ Cookbook Forum even Hot Topics”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 91 guests