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October 30, 2008 - Let's talk turkey vulturesber 30, 2008 • The Suffolk Times et's talk turkey vultures f � � J w. rwy t C w, r A0 y r°+� AL X11 Suffolk Times photo by Barbara Stoutenburg Occasionally turkey vultures, these big, black soaring birds, visit us as they pass through. Here they perch on our windmll early in the morning, warming up their wings before taking off on the nearest thermal. We've been receiving calls from people who are curious about the big, black birds they see resting on poles or soaring in the sky. They say they are larger than seagulls. One caller said he saw three of them in a tree at one time. There are not that many really big birds that pass through our area; occasionally we Focus get bald eagles, but not normally ON in a group.That NATURE would eliminate the possibility by Paul that our caller Stoutenburgh had seen bald ably what they saw were vultures. The vultures we see in our area are usually turkey vultures, so named because the featherless red head looks somewhat Re the head of a wild turkey. There is another vulture, called the black vulture because, as the name implies,4t is all black except for a patcl of white under its wings when in flight, Seeing that black vultures are more southern birds that hardly ever come this far north, it seems even more probable what our callers have been seeing are turkey vultures. To further identify the difference be tween the two vultures when seen up close, the turkey vulture has a cream o white beak and the head is red , wh e the adult black vulture has a black beak. Be sure to look closely, though; to confuse you, the young turkey vul- ture has a black beak and head. When Barbara and I go down to Florida every winter you can't step outside your door without seeing vultures soaring; some close, some jus specks in the sky. Down there turkey vultures are more common, but we de see the black vultures as well. Now that we've determined that the big black birds people have been see- ing are turkey vultures, let's go a little deeper into their life history. In -the Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoute e can become spellbound watching vultures as they move from one the another. Their six - foot -wide wings have tips that spread like fingers to wild, vultures have been found to live • be 16 years old. In captivity one lived • be to 21 years of age. Neither the tur- ey vulture nor the black vulture has a oice. The closest they can come to any ind of sound is a guttural grunt or hiss. Their nesting is a secretive endeav- r that makes checking on their nests uite difficult. They also do not build ypical nests, making it even more ifficult to find them. The'eggs are laid on-the ground in dense shrub- bery, tree stumps or even abandoned houses. No nesting material is used. A usual clutch is two eggs laid one to three days apart; occasionally just one egg is laid, seldom three. Incubation is about 35 days; fledging can be anywhere from 60 to 80 days. It's interesting to note that both par- ents have brood patches and incubate equally. A brood patch is a patch of featherless skin that is visible on the underside of birds during the nesting season. This patch of skin is well sup- plied with blood vessels at the surface, making it possible for the birds to transfer heat to their eggs when incu- bating. The young are fed regurgitated food, as the feet of the vulture are not strong enou¢h to carry food back to Ihave hine nest. When the time comes to mi- grate south the young don't necessaril} go with their parents. Vultures have a uniquely small, bare ead that has no feathers. The reason for this is that when eating, they probe deeply into the entrails of dead animals and if their head were feathered it would be a mes,. Put that small head on a big black- bodied bird of either the urkey vulture or black vulture and you a sorry- looking bird. But all that is forgotten, when either f these birds takes to the air, for it is then that one realizes they are masters of their world. In flight the turkey vulture holds its wings in a shallow dihedral (V shape) and rocks back and forth. It is on these soaring flights that food is found. For years that puzzled everyone — how they could locate their food that was often hidden. Just recently it has been determined that the turkey vulture locates its future meal by detecting scent that can be miles away. The black vul- ture does not have scent ability and has to locate its food by sight. Therefore it often follows the turkey vultures to find its food. When food has been found, it's not long before every vulture in the area swings in to get his share of the spoil. Vultures sun themselves by spreading their wings before they fly. This exercise also provides the vulture with vitamin D The warming up helps them to conserve energy by increasing their body temper- ature in the winter, and it aids them in sensing the hot air rising off the ground that they may use to soar. When I first started writing Focus on ature back in the early '60s,-1 often had guest writers who would write an article in their particular fields. One of the early writers ey was Melita Hofmann of Orient, who was a writer of nature books and an artist as well. In going through some of our old articles recently I happened . on her article on vultures. To quote from her 1962 article, "It seems to'be vultures' special mission or office in na- ture to remove carrion from the face of the earth. They seldom attack a living animal but they have been seen to sit and watch the approach of death, wait- ing for the feast. They gorge themselves excessively when food is abundant, till their crop forms a great projection and, often unable then to rise from the ground, they sit long in a sleepy or half - torpid state to digest their food. They do not carry food to their young in their claws but disgorge it for them from the crop. The bareness of their head and neck adapts them for feeding on putrid flesh, otherwise their feath- ers would be a sorry sight, and they are very careful to preen and cleanse the parts of their body and their plumage." So if you happen to see big black birds soaring in the sky, take a closer look. You are probably seeing turkey vultures. Watch as they soar and rock back and forth in the sunshine. They'll When vultures take to the air, one realizes th are masters of their world.