The Turkey Vultures Are Back

[Henry]

The turkey vultures are back. I saw about 30 of them over the Minor's store area.

Jo

[Rev. Elizabeth]

Yes, they are a sure sign; and there have been lots of geese flying overhead too. Two weeks ago I saw flocks of geese on the alfalfa fields near our house.  I usually have heard a song sparrow by now, but haven't. Perhaps the storms south of us have kept the songbirds from traveling.

[Stand Alone Defense]

I live up off Sandhill Rd in Fairfax and they nest up behind my house all spring and summer every year.  I counted 41 coming in to nest last night and to be honest it is kind of a freaky sight.  My dog goes crazy every night around 7 when they come in to land you can hear their wings as they fly over the house.

[rod anode]

are they a protected bird?

[Trekr]

All birds except  pigeons, English sparrows and starlings are protected by federal and state laws.

[Corm]

For those that haven't seen one of these birds up close, they are huge! Lat spring I had to shoot a porcupine one morning that was chewing the moulding around my garage door. I chased him off two mornings in a row, the 3rd morning I decided would be the last. I had to rush off to work, so I moved it to the outside edge of my lawn, and was planning on burying it when I got home from work. When I got home, there were 7 turkey vultures surrounding what was left of the carcass. I got to watch them in action. It was quite a sight. There were a couple of big ones that had to have at least a 4-5 foot wing span. When they decided to leave, all that was left was a bare skull. Made my job easy.

Corm