‘It Was Pretty Scary’: Hordes Of Vultures Taking Over South Jersey Town

Philadelphia CBS ^ | March 8, 2019 | Cleve Bryan

[RedMonqey]

"It’s Jersey - already full vultures, they run the state”

(Birds of a feather, flock together....

[RedMonqey]

Thanks for the “fun facts”

Especially the “leg coating”

Didn’t know it had a purpose. Yucky but a purpose

As kids we used to lie on our backs and watch the summer clouds go by. Occasionally a “kettle’ of vultures would circle around us(guess they thought we were a “meal” They would circle a few times then catch a thermal and rise...and rise about the tops of the Cumulus clouds and drift out of sight, away from our farm. We counted about twenty something birds. Good times...

[RedMonqey]

"I don't know why this story is even on the news”

Slow news day, I ponder..

[RedMonqey]

"I'm not dead yet - ”

"Well, he will be soon, he's very ill."

"I'm getting better."(Thud)

[RedMonqey]

"There’s about a 2-3 acre grove of trees on the grounds of my workplace.”

The only time we see that many vultures(turkey) on the ground is there's a dead animal. Usually roadkill deer but occasional a dog will get hit.

We leave them alone because they will render the carcass down to bones quicker than if you called the county to come pick the mess up

[RedMonqey]

"On my street, I saw five vultures surround a dead rabbit.”

I've read somewhere that vultures, despite the "hook” bill they have, cannot open an fresh carcass like, say an eagle or an hawk. They have to wait for the flesh to "mature" and burst it's contents.

That's why the crow snatched the rabbit and the vultures just stood by, dumbfounded.

[fortes fortuna juvat]

I shot and killed a squirrel last week,
................................
Why?

[Texas resident]

I had a problem with buzzards. I shot one and the rest of them ate the dead one. Kept that up for a couple of weeks and they ended up all gone.

[FreeReign]

Very interesting. Thanks.

[mozarky2]

They roost in that grove at night; about 200 of them. They used to roost in an old house, but we tore that down. They may not be there anymore. I just retired a couple months ago at 71 yo. I think they were waiting me out...

[bluejean]

“My favorite is a “squadron of pelicans”

It occured to me once that pigeons flying around and around in their silly circles should be called a “panic of pigeons”. They are the idiots of the bird world. Maybe they’re Democrats. Seems fitting.

[taxesareforever]

Everyone knows you can’t make democrats leave town.

[keats5]

We had a huge smelly dead amur (grass carp) in our pond last spring. My hubby dug it out of the pond and threw it in our woods. The smell was atrocious. Within an hour, a bunch of turkey vultures arrived, ate it, and flew away. Even the smell was gone!

We welcome them for the occasional cleanup job. We live in the woods, and they’re a necessary part of life. They leave when the job is done. We’ve never had issues with their droppings.

Years ago, our town cleaned up roadkill. They don’t anymore. That’s when the hawk and vulture population increased. Actually, they’re more dependable than the city ever was.

[smvoice]

Vultures as roadkill??
The question then becomes: WHAT EATS THE DEAD VULTURES??

[Responsibility2nd]

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Except that vultures fill a very necessary and critical role in any ecosystem.

Democrats? Hardly. Most useless creatures in all God’s creation.

[Batman11]

PFL

[Does so]

* “Kettle” refers to vultures in flight

Look carefully, and you'll see other large birds sharing their airspace. (e.g.: Bald Eagles, Ospreys, Redtail Hawks).

A friend who soars gliders in those updrafts says the birds "chat" among themselves.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I love watching raptors soar. You see them frequently flapping their wings to find new thermals. You hardly ever see a vulture flap its wings. Next time you see some, watch for that. They generally only flap wings to get airborne and land. They are that good at soaring.