Vultures

A young raccoon got run over on the road in front of our house sometime early Wednesday morning.  I found it and relocated it to the backyard near the edge of the field, in hopes of attracting some vultures.  I then came into the house to clean up and change into cooler clothes.  As I headed back to the bedroom, I glanced out the window to see why the Blue Jays at the feeder were making so much noise.  Turkey Vultures had already arrived and were using the woodpecker tree as a perch to look over the potential meal.

Most birds aren’t bothered by my watching from behind the window glass.  The Turkey Vultures not only noticed me, they were uncomfortable with my presence.  In a great flapping of wings they left the dead tree stubs …

… and moved to the barn roof.

They landed with their backs to the offered food item and stretched their wings out in the morning sun.

It was not until I finally got to the back window that I found out that a Turkey Vulture had already found the raccoon.  I had left the carcass in the short grass, but the vulture moved it down into a more secluded location.  It fed undisturbed for several minutes.

Then a Black Vulture showed up. 

The Black Vulture took possession of the raccoon.  The Turkey Vultures stayed close, but didn’t try to reclaim their meal.  Each time a Turkey Vulture moved too near the raccoon, the Black Vulture would take a step forward and the interloper would back off.

After a few minutes, the Black Vulture moved the carcass back out into the short grass.  I think the tall grass was blocking its view of the Turkey Vultures and it relocated to an area where it could watch and eat at the same time.

Black Vultures historically ranged south of Blue Jay Barrens, but they have been gradually increasing their range northward.  While they were once a rarity here, they have now become a regular feature.

The Black Vulture finally became the undisputed owner of the meal.  Most of the Turkey Vultures took off to hunt for food elsewhere. Except for one that parked itself in front of the Black Vulture and just watched it eat.

The quiet intimidation must have worked, because the Black Vulture finally flew off.  The persistent Turkey Vulture then spent a quiet few hours finishing off the raccoon.

By early afternoon the Turkey Vulture had completed its meal.  It took wing and disappeared.

Nothing left but skin and bones.  It’s amazing how efficiently these birds can strip a carcass of its meat. 

Turkey Vultures

I was walking through the Indian Grass when a passing shadow indicated that I was being overflown by a Turkey Vulture.  An upward glance revealed two of the birds doing broad circles as they drifted across the field.  At certain times, laziness is an appropriate response to a fortuitous situation.  I stretched out in the grass to watch the birds.  This is something I’m not able to do when near the road or in the yard, because people tend to assume I’ve dropped dead and they stop to investigate.

The Turkey Vulture is probably the largest bird that people around here can regularly observe.  Even though I see them almost daily, I always take a moment to watch as they fly over.

It’s interesting how their look changes with the angle of the light.  When viewed in the air, the vulture of most often backlit making the pattern beneath the wing difficult to see.  While turning, the pale patch beneath the wing can catch the sunlight and give an unexpectedly bright flash.

Once in the air, Turkey Vultures seemingly glide forever.  There was a pretty strong wind blowing when I took these pictures, but you couldn’t tell by watching the birds.  They maintained the same speed whether going upwind, downwind or crosswind.

This one checked its forward speed and paused briefly to move its head back and forth.  It was probably trying to pick up the scent of its next meal.  There must not have been anything appetizing, because the birds drifted on out of the field and over the ridge.  That called an end to my lazy spell and I got up and continued on my way.

Vultures

I came around the corner of the house yesterday morning and found several Black Vultures having a feast.  A road killed Raccoon that I had moved into the field a couple of days ago was now in the front yard.  I decided to leave the carcass alone and let the vultures try to finish it off.  That’s only a sound decision because my wife is away and won’t be back for a couple more days.

The Vultures saw me peeking through the shrubbery and took off.

They circled a couple of times and then drifted away.  I went on out to the barn to do a little work.

When I stuck my head out of the barn an hour later, a Turkey Vulture was standing beside the Raccoon.

The heat and the fly larvae had done a good job of tenderizing the Raccoon.  The Vulture was able to tear free some healthy bites.

It seemed that this guy was in total control of the carrion.  I went back into the barn to continue my work.

When I next surveyed the scene, a single Black Vulture was eating while two Turkey Vultures looked on.

At a move from the Black Vulture in their direction, the Turkey Vultures simultaneously extended their wings.  The wing spread appeared to be a defensive posture in response to the Black Vultures movement, but the reading I’ve done doesn’t indicate wing spreading being used for this purpose.  Wing spreading is supposed to be for drying the feathers or warming the body.  Perhaps that’s exactly what they were doing and the apparent aggressive move by the Black Vulture was just a misinterpretation on my part.

The Turkey Vultures moved away a few feet and again extended their wings while the Black Vulture continued to feed.  The arrival of our mail carrier caused all of the birds to depart.   I noticed them out there later in the day, but they’re going to have to really work to get things cleaned up before my wife gets back.

Turkey Vulture

I’m used to seeing big birds in the yard, but not Turkey Vultures. I noticed this one sitting at the edge of the field, looking into the tall grass. I wondered what it might be after and then remembered throwing out some bad fish a couple of days earlier.

The fish was the target. It pulled the fillet into the yard before beginning to eat. I was surprised the fish was still there. Usually the skunks or opossums or raccoons or dogs eat the scraps the first night they’re available. The fish had been out there through two nights.

The Turkey Vulture returned several times through the day. Its preferred perch was my electronic rain gauge. I have three rain gauges; two standard cylinder types with gradations marked on the side and one electronic type that transmits the readings into the house. The two standard gauges always match rainfall amounts. The electronic gauge tends to register odd readings. I wonder why that might be.

That big foot jammed down in the rain collection bowl can’t be good on the mechanism. Each time the bird returned, it landed on the rain gauge before dropping down to the ground for more fish.

That’s an old rain gauge with an outer casing made of plastic. I’m glad the force of the landings and take offs didn’t cause any cracking. The fish was all gone by evening, so I doubt the Turkey Vulture will be returning.