has been hanging around for the last couple of weeks. I've seen two of them several times, ugly and creepy. There's alot of action going on with all the birds around my yard, would they hurt one , or do they just go for the dead?


noemi
south texas

Noemi, vultures are really pretty neat birds. They are amazing aerialists to watch and they perform an invaluable service by scavenging dead carcasses - imagine what life would be like without these guys! Turkey vultures (like your bird) do not attack living prey, and black vultures only do so rarely. Don't worry about your birds and don't be creeped out by the vulture - enjoy it!

Jill

Benton, ME
Canon Digital Rebel XT
Canon EF70-300 F4-5.6 IS USM

Easy with the CREEPY stuff

They are strictly scavengers and I thing they are nice looking.

nice pic

Mike
Central NJ/Raritan Bay/Sandy Hook

Jill is right about their benefits . . . but I have to admit to being creeped out by the huge flocks of them I see here (just moved to Tampa, FL). It is quite common to bike around a residential street corner and suddenly be in the middle of 30 to 40 vultures fighting over the parts of an armadillo. I do pedal faster and Halloween isn't just once a year! However, I prefer to watch them soaring in the distance.

noemi,

They are prettier in flight than hunched down on a perch like this, but that's still a pretty good photo.
I don't think you need to worry about your songbirds because of him tho.


Kenn

I really like Turkey Vultures! I love watching them in flight and when they come closer or fly lower I'm amazed at their wing size. All this and a great cleanup crew! What more could one ask for?

New Jersey
Zone 6

What a shot!!

DuckWatcher
No California -- Zone 9b
Olympus SP-560 UZ