In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
Vultures in the back yard
Bubba Jr.
Member Posts: 8,304 ✭✭✭✭
We have 5 of them taking turns eating a rabbit along the edge of our west woods. This bunch seems more civil than most of them. Usually, they fight and squabble among themselves. But this group will step aside when another one lands close by. I guess they realize there is enough to go around.
Joe
Comments
Ahhh....springtime! Soon the buzzards will return in force in my neck of the woods here in Michigan. Ugly cusses, but do a good job of removing the woodchucks and other pests I dispose of every spring and summer. Do make me wonder if they know something I don't when they are circling above when I am working outside. 🤔 Bob
The county dump is about 5 miles away as the crow fly's. I see a lot of buzzards, sea gulls, ravens, eagles, and crows flying circles around my place year round! They will catch a wind current and drift along in circles without having to do any wing work for what seems to be a very long time. I kind of enjoy watching them.
Are they watching you
Maybe they know something you don't lol
This guy has been hanging around, eating rabbits and squirrels. Now I'm afraid he is gonna go after one of my feral cats.
My guess is the feral cats are worse on small game than Mr. Hawk.
I can go out most any time and see buzzards. It amazes me how they can fly without moving their wings much.
Bet the buzzards circle over 84's house after Taco Tuesday.
Years ago I was in the Big Bend Natl. Park camped in the Rio Grande Village campground next to the river, for easy access to beer across in Boquillos, Mexico. Driving out one morning, I say a guy cooking breakfast on the end of his picnic table. On the other end sat a turkey vulture (they are not buzzards, redtailed hawks are buzzards). I rolled down the window and asked if he was concerned for his future. He replied, "No, but I am damn worried about my bacon!"
Redtailed hawk Oakie, that is a buzzard (member of the Beuto genus) not a vulture.
Buzzards and vultures are not the same!
Wednesday evening, my wife and I were returning from dinner out......at about 7pm.
While crossing through the middle of our city (far North Texas) we spotted the largest group of vultures we've EVER seen. There were about 50 to 100+ of them, obviously soaring on a thermal at 200 to 300 feet up.
Amazing......the large number of vultures......AND over the middle of town! 😲
Likely in migration back north from Central and South America as far south as Patagonia where they spend the winter.
Oakie, what could possibly be the problem if he picks off a few feral cats?? Have you considered putting a cat food dish in the middle of the most open area around your house??😁
There is a lot of "technically true" in what you say, but mostly that just applies to other places than in the US. In the US, what is called a buzzard in Europe is just a hawk (there are other birds too, but mostly hawks). And here in the US buzzard and vulture are often used interchangeably.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
"here in the US buzzard and vulture are often used interchangeably." That is true, but vultures are not buzzards. Buzzards are the Buteo hawks like the redtail, swainson's, broad wing, red shouldered, rough legged, ferruginous and others. Turns out, people can learn given a chance.
Never had any idea that a hawk was in the buzzard family, always thought they were closer to eagles, birds that also catch their own prey, not just scavenge. How do eagles fit in?
Sorry guys, it is probably my fault that this buzzard/vulture thing came up. In my original post I didn't mean to infer that they are one and the same. Here in my part of Michigan Turkey vulture are rare and Black vultures even more so. We do have a plethora of buzzards that fill the same niche in the environment and that was the comparison I was making.
This discussion does make me wonder if we will have a family of red tail hawks again this year. Last year they had three chicks and it was fun watching them in the yard learning to hunt, usually with mom or dad perched nearby keeping an eye on things. Another benefit is the decrease in chipmunk and red squirrels when they are around. Bob
Around here, we have turkey buzzards, which I just learned are actually vultures. They're here year-round.
I did a report on them once. Apparently they're quite intelligent for birds. And they can fly pretty high.
That's the thing that amazes me....how they soar. There are quarries nearby and scores of them fly every day right there. Catching an updraft, I suppose. Pretty cool big bird.
The Eagles are a band still performing, even though they supposedly broke up after Glenn Frey died. My favorite album is Hotel California. Sorry, could not resist.
Eagles, both golden and bald are Accipitors, grouped with the goshawk, sharp shinned, Cooper's and the kites. Goldens are predators eating mostly mammals up to the size of foxes (and lambs) and bald eagles are feed largely on fish, but do scavange more than goldens.
The other group of raptors is the falcons. Most have falcon in their common names, as in Prairie falcon, bat falcon, Apalomado falcon, Peregrine falcon. The sparrow hawk (kestral, not the same as the Eur-African kestral) and the merlin are exceptions.
Bob, I would love to know what the "buzzards" of Michigan are. I would suppose buteos filling in for vultures if vultures are rare. Black Vultures are generally eastern US, while turkey vultures are found over most of the country.
Here in my part of northern lower Michigan, Turkey Vultures are very common these days. When I was growing up, they were rare. Just like coyotes. For whatever reason both have found a home and have stuck around.
My use of the word buzzard instead of vulture was probably from my early educational development. Never missed an episode of Woody Woodpecker!! 😁
Now! What about those CONDOR'S??? 😮
I forget. Which ones are in Congress?
The worst of em USMG!
There are a group of black vultures that hang out near our home. Its pretty creepy when you come outside and there are dozens of HUGE black birds in a few trees right near your back door. It always makes me think there is a dead thing near.
The funniest vulture story I have is one that involves a turkey buzzard....its HUGE, black with a red head.
I was following my sister in law in my car with all the kids in mine because they wanted to ride together.
We're in a curve in the road, she is ahead and I see this turkey buzzard jump out of the road and take off flying to avoid her car. It made a huge circle and came back to the same spot just in time for me to hit it. It hit my windshield, rolled over the top of the car and I swear we made eye contact when it happened. All the kids went NUTS in the car. I was curled up in the front seat, still driving....but with my legs crimpled up to my chest and feeling like a monster for killing this thing. We didn't stop.....you DON'T stop with six kids under 10 in your car unless its on fire.
I'm sure his buddies took good care of him........
Vultures in the backyard--next time, you need to bury the evidence DEEPER.
Nothing that refined in Congress dude.
I was walking around DC in the early 80's. Walking down Connecticut Ave, going toward the National Zoo. I noticed a a large building near Rock Creek Park, and along the parapet were a line of about 10 black Vultures. The sign by the drive indicated it was a retirement home. I am dying at home, no senior living for me!
Whatever you call them, a turkey buzzard nested in one of my deer stands several years ago! A stinky mess that I had to clean with bleach after throwing my chair and all the carpet out to burn. I solved THAT problem by adding windows. Now, it's wasp and flying squirrels, but I can handle them with insect bombs.
Had a science teacher many years ago. He told of his experince with buzzards.
He was making an attempt to sneak up on one and catch it. He was very successful except for one thing. Ya'll do know a buzzards first line of defense don't you? He didn't and the "catch" was a bust.
This one was watching me fish last fall !!!!
Did you and your fishing budy catch any?
Back in the day when I was a young Park Naturalist I occasionally led a 3-hour hike through a small canyon area. For a while one of the popular attractions on the trail was a nest of turkey vultures under a small rock shelter (they're kind of cute in their own way). One day Mom was home when we came upon the scene. You guessed it - she got airborne and there were about a dozen tourists dodging buzzard puke. I don't recall anyone actually being hit, but I'm sure stories were told around the campfire.