The annual feast of the vultures, a post-Thanksgiving rite

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 03 December 2009 12:37

In our family as in many others, turkey leftovers are traditional day-after-Thanksgiving fare. However, among the Sanders clan, there’s another Friday tradition, involving the ultimate turkey leftover — the carcass.

After they’ve been picked of the meat for human consumption, the bones of the bird go out into the back yard to serve as a Friday breakfast for two of nature’s feathered cleanup crews.

Invariably, the sharp-eyed crows are there first, beginning their feasting just after dawn. Eventually, however, Turkey Vultures catch wind of the treat and chase off the crows. That’s not hard for them to do since the vultures, which have six-foot wingspans, dwarf the crows.

This has happened virtually every year for the past 20 years or so. It makes you wonder how the vultures always manage to discover a smallish carcass in our small back yard, once a year, every year.

Turkey Vultures have two things working for them: They are among the few birds in the world with a keen sense of smell, and they possess excellent vision. Their noses may pick up the scent of the turkey meat, albeit fresh and not rotting as their usual fare is. On the other hand, they may spot the crows gathered around the turkey, and take that as a sign of good eats below.

On the wing, Turkey Vultures are graceful gliders, slipping through the air for long periods without even needing to flap — thanks in large part to that six feet of wingspan. In a tree, watching the passing scene (we call it “vulching”), they appear to be at home. On the ground, however, they look gangling and uncomfortable. They hop, they waddle, they generally move slowly. At times, they look as if they might tip over.

Because they are so big, it is harder for them to take off quickly to flee an attacker. Our small yard bordered with trees does not provide much open space for take-off.  Consequently, they are very wary, and are spooked by the least movement that seems threatening — such as people watching through a window.

Nonetheless, once they have found their annual backyard breakfast, as many as 50 vultures may show up and the jockeying begins.  Like other birds, vultures have pecking orders, with dominant birds getting more time at the carcass. Battles are frequent, with the feasting bird chasing off others. However, at other times, several vultures may quietly work together on the turkey.

The whole affair is fun to watch, and so are the sideshows and off-beat occurrences. One year, a small beach ball happened to be in the back yard near the carcass. The ball aroused the curiosity of a couple of the vultures, who nosed — or “beaked” — it around the back yard for a while.

Sometimes, we’ll spot a vulture with a lot of white on its back. The white is poop from other vultures and indicates that this bird is low on the pecking order at the roost. At night, the dominant birds get the highest limbs in the trees while the less powerful ones must use lower limbs — and accept the droppings of the birds above. (The same can happen with crows.)

About eight or 10 years ago, Black Vultures began showing up, too. Common in the South, Black Vultures have been extending their range northward, and are now fairly regular residents of our area, perhaps drawn by the warmer winters as well as the wealth of roadkill — especially deer. Their heads are black instead of the red of a Turkey Vulture’s.

In our post-Thanksgiving yard, Black Vultures always arrive after the Turkey Vultures have begun dining. They probably spotted the eating activity; Black Vultures do not have the sense of smell that their red-headed cousins do. They seem more aggressive and have little trouble chasing off the larger Turkey Vultures.

This year we had no Black Vultures and only about a half-dozen Turkey Vultures, a modest post-Thanksgiving gathering.

Incidentally, be it Black or Turkey, both vultures have heads that are fleshy and lack feathers. Because the vulture is always sticking its head into what we would consider rather unsavory places — the rotting innards of dead animals, being featherless makes the head easier to keep clean.

Coming Up

HawkWatch Report, Luke Tiller reports counts over Quaker Ridge, including new records, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 7 p.m., Audubon Greenwich, 613 Riversville Road, Greenwich, 203-613-8813, greenwich.audubon.org

Family Bird Watching, including how Project Feederwatch works, Saturday, Dec. 12, 12:30 to 2 p.m., Audubon Greenwich, 613 Riversville Road, Greenwich, 203-613-8813 x230 for reservation, greenwich.audubon.org

Annual Christmas Bird Count, for Greenwich area, Sunday, Dec. 20, all day, Brian O’Toole, at 203-869-5272 x221 or greenwich.audubon.org for info or forms.

Bird Walks with Luke Tiller, to register, sunrisebirding.com/walks.htm; 203-981-9924, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

First Sundays, birding at Greenwich Point with Meredith Sampson of Wild Wings, and other guides, meet at the second concession stand, 203-637-9822.

Copyright (c) 2009 by Jack Sanders. Send sightings or comments to: jackfsanders [at sign] yahoo.com, or to Bird Notes, Box 1019, Ridgefield, CT 06877; or call 203-438-1183, extension BIRD (2473), and leave a message with your report, spelling your first and last names and telling us your town. If you need help identifying a bird, try your local nature center. If you find an injured bird, call wildlife rehabilitator Darlene Wimbrow of Redding, 203-438-0618, Wildlife in Crisis of Weston, 203-544-9913, or Wild Wings of Greenwich, 203-637-9822. The columnist’s website is www. sandersbooks. com.