Okay this is odd. The Vultures are back.

[MossRoad]

Its a common myth that Vultures circle over potential meals. They circle when they have found a good thermal.

That's not how they play it in the Westerns!!!

 

[MossRoad]

When our youngest was at Purdue, there was a very tall radio tower a block over from the apartment. Late every afternoon several dozen vultures would come and circle around it for close to an hour, then slowly, one-by-one, they'd land on it until all of them were done. Then they'd roost there overnight. In the morning, they'd face the sun and spread their wings out to warm up. After about an hour one-by-one, they'd take off an circle up and finally drift away on the breezes. It was pretty interesting to watch.

 

[ericm979]

Its a common myth that Vultures circle over potential meals. They circle when they have found a good thermal.

Turkey vultures also circle around food. It can be hard to tell the difference but often they will go lower if it's food. We had a dead deer on the leach field a couple years back and the vultures kept coming by real low. They did not land, maybe because there was not a good path for takeoff.

Small groups circle together when they are migrating. They catch thermals and circle but they also keep moving in a consistent direction, if slowly compared to say geese.

One of my professors studied vultures. I was kinda glad I didn't get to work for him on that as vultures will puke on you if you annoy them.

There was a house in the suburbs around here that used to get a flock of vultures roosting on the roof for a few weeks every winter. I think the house was just situated right for sunning and flying away (it was on a hill). That must have been interesting for the occupants.

 

[Diggin It]

There's an old mostly dead Oak tree down the road. I've seen 10 or 15 black headed buzzards perched in it while out walking. As I approach, they all hit the air and the whomp-whomp-whomp of their wings is quite loud.

 

[the old grind]

From Wikipedia:

"The black vulture also occasionally feeds on livestock or deer. It is the only species of New World vulture which preys on cattle. It occasionally harasses cows which are giving birth, but primarily preys on newborn calves.

In its first few weeks, a calf will allow vultures to approach it. The vultures swarm the calf in a group, then peck at the calf's eyes, or at the nose or the tongue. The calf then goes into shock and is killed by the vultures.

These vultures are known to kill baby herons on nesting colonies, and feed on domestic ducks, small birds, skunks, opossums, other small mammals and young turtles."

 

[turnkey4099]

Went down to get the mail yesterday and saw the grass is greening up. This is in Eastern Washington. The grass greening now is very odd as normal here is about foot of snow cover every where and grass shouldn't even be visible for at least another month.

 

[ning]

Turkey vultures also circle around food. It can be hard to tell the difference but often they will go lower if it's food. We had a dead deer on the leach field a couple years back and the vultures kept coming by real low. They did not land, maybe because there was not a good path for takeoff.

Small groups circle together when they are migrating. They catch thermals and circle but they also keep moving in a consistent direction, if slowly compared to say geese.

One of my professors studied vultures. I was kinda glad I didn't get to work for him on that as vultures will puke on you if you annoy them.

There was a house in the suburbs around here that used to get a flock of vultures roosting on the roof for a few weeks every winter. I think the house was just situated right for sunning and flying away (it was on a hill). That must have been interesting for the occupants.

Definitely both! If they're circling high, it's cruising a thermal, but I see them over the meadow here circling all the time much lower, typically in a gradually decreasing radius circle, getting lower and lower and then they land. They probably can drop more quickly like raptors, but the prey's dead already and they can be much more chill about the descent.

(I'll bet your deer wasn't quite... tenderized? yet. around here they tend to go after stuff that's pretty well seasoned, if you get my drift)

 

[fishdrivel]

Its a common myth that Vultures circle over potential meals. They circle when they have found a good thermal.

you're no fun. By the way, they must look for their meals. You think they drive around?

"Vultures take advantage of rising air currents or thermals for flying.

And so, they soar in circles to stay within the bounds of a thermal.

But they also circle the dead to ensure their food is indeed dead.

But they find dying animals by smelling decay gases.

Otherwise, they visually look for the carcasses.

If a vulture is circling you, then it may have smelled a dead animal around.

Or perhaps, the vultures are just migrating.

 

[jaxs]

Someone is about to tell us more than they know about this. Buzzards can't smell,no bird can. On the other hand with eyesight like eagles,they see flies on animals from quite high then can tell the difference in flies as they circle lower above animals. If animal has injury that is starting to rot and attract green flies,buzzards often begin eating although animal is alive.

 

[Root Cause]

When a deer gets killed near us, the turkey buzzards hang out in the surrounding trees and on our rooftop. You can hear them land and take off, it is a considerable bump if are upstairs. The first time it happened, I walked out to get the trash cans and saw 6 or 8 buzzards sitting on limbs across the road. Walking back, I saw about 12 sitting in trees across the back. I looked up to see 6 sitting on our roof. When I went inside, my wife was freaking out wondering what was striking the roof.