Author Topic: Turkey Vultures (Read 1634 times)

john keyes · « **on:** April 22, 2009, 12:33:17 PM »

I had always wanted to bust one but had heard they are protected

Our deer lease is infested with em.

so, I start looking online to find out what the laws are in my area regarding turkey vultures. guess what:

The Turkey Vulture species receives special legal protections under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 in the United States, by the Convention for the Protection of Migratory Birds in Canada and by the Convention for the Protection of Migratory Birds and Game Mammals in Mexico. In the USA it is illegal to take, kill, or possess Turkey Vultures, and violation of the law is punishable by a fine of up to 15,000 US dollars and imprisonment of up to six months.

okielectrician · « **Reply #1 on:** April 22, 2009, 12:40:35 PM »

Usually if I gut a deer and leave to go check it in,by the time I get back the turkey buzzards have cleaned up my mess,just Gods little quicker picker uppers.

Land_Owner · « **Reply #2 on:** April 24, 2009, 07:20:48 AM »

They are REAL hard on plastic truck parts, especially front end parts like grills, head light lenses, spoilers, etc. In congregations of buzzards adjacent to road kill, go REAL slow or potentially suffer the consequences. My brother had one come through the front windshield. They smell REAL bad, some have maggots on them, and Gary Larsen, "The Far Side" had it about right when he cartooned one sitting at the "Road Kill Cafe" calling for the cook to take his serving back as it "wasn't rancid enough!" I wonder how powerful their sense of smell is compared to us humans. Probably akin to dogs who think nothing of rolling in the smelliest "perfume" they can find.

Blackhawker · « **Reply #3 on:** April 24, 2009, 08:49:20 AM »

I worked with raptors for quite a few years and carried a falconer's permit for roughly 10 years. While a wildlife educator and raptor rehabber, I had the chance to work with a turkey vulture. They certainly do have some very "unique" habits. Unlike raptors, they have a VERY intense sense of smell. More so than most any other animal, in fact. Because they feed on non-moving food sources, the chance of seeing prey from a long distance away is not that good so instead, the turkey vulture actually "smells" its way to it's food. This is not to say however that they have poor eyesight. They don't carry maggots either. MYTH!

I think if we all spent a little time learning about the unique characteristics that some animals possess, we would probably never even consider hunting or shooting them for sport.

That's not a poke at anyone here so please don't take it as such......I mean that to me and everyone. Animals can be amazing once we take a closer look at them.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #4 on:** April 24, 2009, 10:31:44 AM »

they can also be pest if not controled !
at a boat landing in Chesterfield co. Va they have cost the county 1000's of dollars in damaged vehicles . So much so a permit was issued to shoot them . shame it took ten years and tons of damage before it took place . Sometimes getting to know a critter has the opposite effect .

Blackhawker · « **Reply #5 on:** April 24, 2009, 11:17:30 PM »

Yeah, well I guess evolution didn't really design just about anything on earth to be around vehicles. Think of what they've cost everything else on earth.

Grumulkin · « **Reply #6 on:** April 25, 2009, 01:18:16 AM »

What I know is there may not be a vulture in sight but if I shoot a ground hog and leave it in my field, there will be a gang of vultures on it no later than the next day and it will ALL be gone by sunset.

charles p · « **Reply #7 on:** April 25, 2009, 11:15:17 AM »

Don't they migrate to Hinckley OH?

Foxxtrot · « **Reply #8 on:** April 25, 2009, 12:53:53 PM »

Animals can be amazing once we take a closer look at them.

Agreed, but you can only get so close without spooking them. Now you can get really close and eat them. We all have a place on the food chain, right next to the tatters.

Blackhawker · « **Reply #9 on:** April 25, 2009, 02:08:36 PM »

Quote from: Grumulkin on April 25, 2009, 01:18:16 AM

What I know is there may not be a vulture in sight but if I shoot a ground hog and leave it in my field, there will be a gang of vultures on it no later than the next day and it will ALL be gone by sunset.

There was a study done with them but I don't recall the exact details. I believe they will beging eating (locating) a carcass after 24 hours of death but will no longer consume one if it has been dead for more than two or three days (I can't remember which).

Foxxtrot.....I guess even Jeffery Dahmer and Ed Gien would agree with you on that..."next to the tatters".

kansasj · « **Reply #10 on:** April 25, 2009, 02:58:39 PM »

A looooonnng time ago I busted one and could not believe how little they weighed. As large as their wingspan is they don't weigh much more than a small pheasant. They do indeed have an extremely foul (pardon the pun) about them. They are no prettier close up than at a distance!

30-30man · « **Reply #11 on:** April 26, 2009, 02:54:02 PM »

Think of all the rotton carcuses that we would have lying around if it were not for them buzzards. They not only clean our planet but they prevent disease as well; that is why they are protected. We have a lot of them at my lake house and they do leave a mess and poop everywhere. They do perform a valuable service though. We use to use a propane cannon when I planted soy beans to keep the deer away. I don't see why something like that would not work to scare birds. All you need is a loud noise and they'll leave and go somewhere else.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #12 on:** April 27, 2009, 03:37:27 AM »

they will leave the first few times but will learn it won't hurt and then come back . This is what happened in Va.
They are useful until over populated then they are a problem and the county has to lower their numbers .

ncsurveyor · « **Reply #13 on:** April 27, 2009, 04:44:14 AM »

I watched no less than two dozen doing their aerial search yesterday.

On windless days usually 3-5 will circle at one altitude, and then another layer of them a little higher, as they check the air for the old dead animal scent. About six layers in all. Not all flying in the same rotation. I guess that is what they have to do to do a thorough search.

I actually enjoy them.

I think they're smart enough to do a fly-by if they hear a rifle shot.

Blackhawker · « **Reply #14 on:** April 27, 2009, 05:41:08 AM »

Methane gas is basically an odorless gas so there is a sulfur compound added to commercial methane so that users will immediately know when there is a leak or if one has left the gas turned on etc. Many years ago, prior to the visualization techniques used today, gas line workers were able to find approximate areas of a pipeline leak by watching vultures circling around and keying in on a scent of a corpse that wasn't there. Instead, they were sensing and being fooled by the methane additive.

OK, so long as many of us are intrigued or repulsed by them, here is another interesting (gross) fact about our turkey vultures: When a turkey vulture is frightened and possibly being pursued by a predator, they will projectile vomit, leaving a mess of the rotten meat they have just eaten. I am not sure exactly why they do this (to thoroughly gross the predator out or to leave a little "something" for them to eat instead of the escaping bird) but I recall when volunteers would work with our vulture and the bird wasn't feeling comfortable with the handler, he'd jet out some "chunks" of meat in appreciation of their unskilled handling techniques. That habit became a well talked about and joked about thing around the workplace.

Have a nice lunch!

hunt-m-up · « **Reply #15 on:** April 27, 2009, 08:24:18 AM »

Saw one working a coon carcass over pretty good yesterday, he appeared to be pretty into his work so to speak. Never thought of shooting one, because I couldn't even imagine eating it and they clean up the mess along the roads. In this part of the world it would seem the population has grown incrementally with the increased roadkills of coon, possum, skunk, etc.
Is it truly a functional adaptation with the lack of feathers on their head or is that a myth also?

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #16 on:** April 27, 2009, 08:33:23 AM »

Have you ever seen them work over a new born calf ? I have 6 in one field . To many of a good thing is still to many .

hunt-m-up · « **Reply #17 on:** April 27, 2009, 08:48:03 AM »

No haven't seen that, I thought they only went after dead stuff...affecting the "living" calf crop would mean they just became unprotected...around here they have really only become more populated in the past 5 years or so, so I guess we'll see.

Blackhawker · « **Reply #18 on:** April 27, 2009, 09:15:26 AM »

When it comes to evolutionary adaptations, we can only have insight or theorize as to how things got to the way they are. As for the lack of feathers, yes, it is "suggested" that they lost their feathers on their heads so as to access the inners of a carcass without having the mess stick to their feathers and invite bugs or bacteria to fester. Again, there is no real proof for this other than studies done via means of statistics etc.

Live critters.....hmmmm??
Well, let's just say this: I've heard of ranchers complaining of calves being picked up and taken away by eagles. Those old stories gave lots of people hearsay reason to shoot LOTS of eagles. If you know the weight of an eagle vs. the weight of a calf, it only makes sense that this isn't true. As for the vultures; I've never head of it but anything is possible I guess......especially when motive is involved. Lot's of eagles died for these reason. Nonetheless, I haven't witnessed vultures killing, nor have an any data to support that they can or can't do it either, so I can't say. I do know that their feet are not capable of grasping which does not support any means of attacking a living animal...but again, ya never know???

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #19 on:** April 27, 2009, 09:21:43 AM »

Never said they picked up a calf . They attack them in the first few days after birth . Like i said i saw 6 that were killed that way and spent several days in the field keeping them off my calf so the cow could feed .
When they over populate they have to still feed themselves .

Blackhawker · « **Reply #20 on:** April 27, 2009, 09:52:27 AM »

I know you didn't say that the vultures carried anything off....I was referring to the eagles. Sorry if you were misled by my analogy.
I suppose a new born calf just doesn't have enough life in it to scare the vultures off so, as I said, anything is possible.

I wouldn't say that they have overpopulated. It is more than likely that they have an opportunistic advantage for feeding within a given area and therefore appear to have overpopulated. It might be (perhaps

) a flock of one family that hasn't dispersed itself yet. If food is not abundant (for any species of animals), they will disperse and move on. I guess you have to find a way to keep your calves safe and/or hidden....don't give easy opportunity to the wildlife (vultures, coyotes, and the like) and they will disperse.

Sorry to hear about your calf losses and I can completely understand your frustration with the situation. It's always a difficult situation when nature comes to conflict with humans and their doings. One want to do what's best and give wildlife every opportunity it has left....but then again, there are other interests at stake as well. I hope you can find a solution to your problem that benefits you, your calves and the vultures all the same. I sincerely wish you good luck with your efforts.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #21 on:** April 27, 2009, 10:04:23 AM »

I dson't hate the birds and agree they clean up . but have you seen flocks of 300 or more ? and seen 5-6 flocks like this in a 2 county area ?
Seeing 2-3 hundred birds circling is a cite .
Like I said the county has a permit to destory some . Some farmers are taking action on their own . As I have not had a loss yet i leave them alone. We tried a blank gun but they got used to it . Then we drove down to the field and they got to where they just moved out the way enough for us to pass .
This is one of those things where different places experince different degrees of destruction from the same critter.

Blackhawker · « **Reply #22 on:** April 27, 2009, 10:26:59 AM »

I'm not sure where you're located and you don't have to disclose that here if you don't want to. Where I'm at, we don't have too many vultures so it's sometimes nice to see a bunch. Our problem here is geese. Now, I don't personally have any problems with them but a bunch of "tender footed" people here are a little afraid of some goose poop...yet they'll let their dang dogs crap up the area all they want. Go figure??? So, because of a little goose poop, we now have "geese police", and other groups of geese hating people around here. We have DROVES of geese here yet nobody can design things in order to keep the populations at bay. Instead, they feed them with lush lawns and landscapes that have no means of holding predators and now the people think that the geese are in complete conflict with human activities here.....or some people think they have anyway.

It's a funny world; here we have TONS of geese over here and it's in an area where one really can't hunt them and you've got lots of vultures causing problems by you. If we could only reverse things a little. You'd have some geese to hunt and we'd have some vultures to clean up the.....ahem, the dogs. (oops, wishful thinking!)

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #23 on:** April 27, 2009, 10:36:59 AM »

Central Va. already posted it . We also have goose problems . Golf courses catch the blunt of it along with athletic fields . One of our biggest problems is deer . Its almost funny to hear people elevate them to a status higher than any other game animal and here they are almost pest.

okielectrician · « **Reply #24 on:** April 27, 2009, 11:46:34 AM »

The geese are getting bad here too, they even walk around in the wal-mart parking lot honking and biting at people that come close.They seem to know you cant do anything about it. $:-\$

dakotashooter2 · « **Reply #25 on:** June 09, 2009, 10:14:35 AM »

HMMMM............ Wonder if they could be trained to replace Cadaver Dogs?

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #26 on:** June 09, 2009, 10:28:04 AM »

would you pet one on the head and say good boy ?

rex6666 · « **Reply #27 on:** June 26, 2009, 07:46:40 AM »

The Snow goose population has gotten so bad they have almost eaten them
selves out of a nesting place. I think 8-10 years ago the limit on snows was
2-3, now in most places they bet you to shoot all you can or want.
I have noticed lots of Canadas nesting here in Texas.