[NatureNS] Turkey Vulture

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From: Donna Crossland <dcrossland@eastlink.ca>
Date: Thu, 5 Dec 2019 20:53:16 -0400
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I have also wondered why the west end of the valley is dominated by 
turkey vultures while the east end is the domain of the eagle. Is it 
possible the vultures would also be in the east in larger numbers if it 
were not for such a large, established eagle population?  Our lack of 
large poultry operations down this way keeps the eagle population lower 
than in the east, presumably.   I hope someone is eventually able to 
explain the mystery of the localized Turkey Vulture population here.  
There are lots of fruit growers here (apples, blueberries, raspberries, 
etc) and those crops attract a lot of raccoons, skunks, etc.  The road 
kill numbers provide a handy index of their numbers, and presumably a 
good food supply for the vultures.

I drove by about a dozen of them two mornings ago on the 201, all 
perched close together on a lawn.  I couldn't glimpse what had attracted 
them, but it was interesting to see so many of them up close.   There is 
a lady in Centrelea who feeds them meat from a local meat shop all 
winter long.  Birders will have no trouble figuring out which house it 
is.  Crows, a few eagles, and other species, go there, too.

In any case, I think I'll take the vultures over the eagles for now.  At 
least the former does not prey upon the chicks of osprey and loons.

Donna Crossland

Tupperville


On 2019-12-05 6:44 p.m., Richard Stern wrote:
> The Bridgetown flock seems to be getting bigger with time. 3 of us saw 
> 42 circling over the town one evening last winter, and others 
> have noted similar numbers in the area.I have seen them on the ground 
> there in the ball field, and also around the farm near the 101 just 
> west of town, as well as roosting in trees along the main street. They 
> can also regularly be seen soaring over the various roads between 
> Middleton and Annapolis Royal - presumably part of the same flock. I 
> don't know why that particular area supports such a large flock, while 
> otherwise they are common in the Yarmouth area and Digby Neck/ Brier 
> Island, with the range of individuals now spreading farther north and 
> into Cape Breton. They are being reported year round, but seem to be 
> more abundant in winter.
>
> Richard
>
> On Thu, Dec 5, 2019 at 6:27 PM fm.lourie <fm.lourie@eastlink.ca 
> <mailto:fm.lourie@eastlink.ca>> wrote:
>
>     A large group of Turkey vultures have lived on the north mountain
>     area in Bridgetown for many years. Last week I saw  a flock of 10
>     in  Bridgetown.
>
>     -------- Original message --------
>     From: NancyDowd <nancypdowd@gmail.com <mailto:nancypdowd@gmail.com>>
>     Date: 2019-12-05 4:08 a.m. (GMT-04:00)
>     To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca <mailto:naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
>     Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Turkey Vulture
>
>     Not considered “rare” but there are very few sightings of TVs
>     along the south shore during the winter period (Dec-Feb) on eBird 
>     I suspect that will change in future for these clever scavengers.
>     Thank you for bringing this one to our attention for the NSBS
>     Records on eBird.
>
>     Nancy D
>
>     > On Dec 4, 2019, at 10:57 PM, James Hirtle <jrhbirder@hotmail.com
>     <mailto:jrhbirder@hotmail.com>> wrote:
>     >
>     > Today in Petite Riviere Mark Crouse spotted a turkey vulture on
>     his property that was feasting on the remains of a porcupine.
>     >
>     > James R. Hirtle
>     > LaHave
>
>
>
> -- 
> #################
> Richard Stern,
> Port Williams, NS, Canada
> sternrichard@gmail.com <mailto:sternrichard@gmail.com>
> ###################

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    <p>I have also wondered why the west end of the valley is dominated
      by turkey vultures while the east end is the domain of the eagle. 
      Is it possible the vultures would also be in the east in larger
      numbers if it were not for such a large, established eagle
      population?  Our lack of large poultry operations down this way
      keeps the eagle population lower than in the east, presumably.   I
      hope someone is eventually able to explain the mystery of the
      localized Turkey Vulture population here.  There are lots of fruit
      growers here (apples, blueberries, raspberries, etc) and those
      crops attract a lot of raccoons, skunks, etc.  The road kill
      numbers provide a handy index of their numbers, and presumably a
      good food supply for the vultures.  <br>
    </p>
    <p>I drove by about a dozen of them two mornings ago on the 201, all
      perched close together on a lawn.  I couldn't glimpse what had
      attracted them, but it was interesting to see so many of them up
      close.   There is a lady in Centrelea who feeds them meat from a
      local meat shop all winter long.  Birders will have no trouble
      figuring out which house it is.  Crows, a few eagles, and other
      species, go there, too.<br>
    </p>
    <p>In any case, I think I'll take the vultures over the eagles for
      now.  At least the former does not prey upon the chicks of osprey
      and loons.</p>
    <p>Donna Crossland</p>
    <p>Tupperville<br>
    </p>
    <p><br>
    </p>
    <div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 2019-12-05 6:44 p.m., Richard Stern
      wrote:<br>
    </div>
    <blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:CAAwXBYfvj3EURtC26z4V+LJ04L5_QPemGTOo8CjD=N1WfMEvug@mail.gmail.com">
      <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
      <div dir="ltr">
        <div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:small">The
          Bridgetown flock seems to be getting bigger with time. 3 of us
          saw 42 circling over the town one evening last winter, and
          others have noted similar numbers in the area.I have seen them
          on the ground there in the ball field, and also around the
          farm near the 101 just west of town, as well as roosting in
          trees along the main street. They can also regularly be seen 
          soaring over the various roads between Middleton and Annapolis
          Royal - presumably part of the same flock. I don't know why
          that particular area supports such a large flock, while
          otherwise they are common in the Yarmouth area and Digby Neck/
          Brier Island, with the range