Vulture Update

The great Black Vulture war is over, and the vultures blinked.  A campaign of decoys and sound effects at the office park has been discontinued.  Inquiries revealed that the vultures have been discouraged and driven off.  Oddly, I am saddened.  The vultures are magnificent birds in many ways and their offense was merely to roost on a building.  No one complains if crows or pigeons roost there (or at least the complaints don't lead to active measures), but vultures are right out.  Still it was an interesting experiment and I learned more about vulture psychology.  And that is, they are too easily fooled by dummies.  Goodbye, you Black Vultures.  I hope you found a friendlier place!

Be Aware!

Tomorrow is a very special day for us at Cary BirdCam.  Because September 7 is International Vulture Awareness Day!  This is a great time to be aware of species in our area and to better understand the vultures' role in our ecology.  In our area there are two species: the Black Vulture (shown) and the Turkey Vulture (common across much of North America).  Both are vital to clearing carrion and returning those nutrients to other use.  Many people find these birds repulsive.  But in so many ways they are truly majestic:  their flight style alone seems so graceful and skillful!  Give these birds your best at least for one day. 

Mixed Feelings on Decoys

It's been a most fascinating summer at the office park where a pair of Black Vultures have set up a base camp.  We first observed them in April and as recently as Wednesday last week I spotted one.  It's gotten even more interesting because experts have been brought in to drive off the birds.  Guano is a problem.  In the picture we can see one of two "decoys" put up to spook the real vultures.  I confess to not being sure if this one is upside up or down.  I am guessing down as well as guessing this is supposed to be a Turkey Vulture (pink head).  I have experience with scarecrows and equivalents and I am skeptical.  But the experts say this is a valid technique that has worked elsewhere.  I keep watching.  For the sake of facilities management, I hope this succeeds and the vultures can find a more suitable environment.  But I would miss those fascinating birds.

Black Vultures Get Closer

The Black Vultures I first spotted in May remain a fixture at our office park, much to the consternation of Facilities Management.  What is worse, from their standpoint, is that the two birds are a great deal more tolerant of people and will stay on a ledge even inches from workers on the other side of the glass.  This has afforded me the chance to teach about vultures to the witnesses.  But I am awfully puzzled by these characters.  Where is all the carrion they are eating?  By the way they hang about the buildings one would imagine that we are up to our armpits in animal carcasses!  The mystery darkens.  Meanwhile, I can enjoy a rare close encounter...daily!

Black Vulture Update

The adventures of the two Black Vultures continue!  Seems these devils have been quite the vexation at my office park.  For a run of two weeks they perched atop the building, and a thick trail of guano decorated the window of a senior vice president.  The birds were, we were told, "discouraged" by professionals.  (They are, after all, protected from serious harm by law.)  But they have returned and I've spotted them every day this week.  Clearly they have found something of extreme interest.  Something dead? yes, at least near enough to spot.  And the four story perch is helpful in spotting the carrion.  I can't say I know where these meals(?) are coming from, but I can say this will be a mighty tough nut to crack.  I can hardly wait to see what tactics are used next to...discourage.

Office Park Surprises

I always enjoy the delights of office park birding.  At least in my office block, one that abuts a game land / wet land associated with massive Lake Jordan.  This past Friday I was entertained by the spectacle of a Black Vulture haunting both of our office towers.  Black Vultures are reasonably common in the area but I don't often see one.  We more routinely see their cousins, the Turkey Vulture.  This one apparently had found some points of interest obscure to me: I am unaware of carrion issues even in our parking lot.  It's a good lesson for all of us: keep watch even in the most unpromising candidate locations: you never know when you might find a bird of great interest!