Hi-tech Turkey Vultures

I'm assuming that at or just off of Washington Valley Park there is a tower for wireless transmissions, but whatever it is, it's popular with the local vultures. On this particular day I got pictures of Turkey Vultures, but Black Vultures will perch up there too.

This is actually one of the most reliable places for me to just show up and see vultures, though admittedly sometimes I'll see more than other times, and sometimes I'll see them in a nearby tree instead of on the tower. There are times when I've seen over a dozen of them in the area, but for that number I have to include ones that are airborne too.

I'm assuming this is popular with the vultures because:

  • This is near the top of a hill, giving it a better view of the surrounding area, and possibly helping them spot a carcass.
  • The tower and nearby trees give a little additional elevation.
  • This is edge habitat, so while there are lots of trees in one direction, it's more of a field in the other direction. That field probably gives them a good line-of-sight if something dies out there. And edge habitat does tend to be an attraction to many animals, some of which no doubt happen to die there.
  • Since Turkey Vultures are one of the few birds with a good sense of smell, things dying in the woods are also a potential meal. (Black Vultures don't entirely miss out on these meals; they know enough to follow their cousins with a good sense of smell.)

Here are some of the handsome devils.

July 27, 2021 at Washington Valley Park
Photo 148653973, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

July 27, 2021 at Washington Valley Park
Photo 148653976, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

July 27, 2021 at Washington Valley Park
Photo 148653985, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Northern Watersnake

Image
This April I went to Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge with the hope (among other hopes) of seeing the Northern Watersnakes during mating season. There were 2 problems with this: I think it was slightly late in the season for this. The boardwalk trail where I had seen them in the past was partially closed due to repairs. So although I didn't see any of the 2+ intertwined snakes that I'd seen in the past, but there were still Northern Watersnakes warming themselves in the sun: April 13, 2023 at Great Swamp Photo 272117862, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) And here's another one coming out of the water. April 13, 2023 at Great Swamp Photo 272119139, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Read more

Female Brown-headed Cowbird

Image
Like quite a few birds, this bird is easier to identify when spotted with her significant other ; she's a Brown-headed Cowbird . Due to their tendency to be monogamous plus plain old birds-of-a-feather behavior, I usually see them with prominently brown-headed males around, greatly improving my confidence in IDing them. My understanding is that Brown-headed Cowbirds are the only obligate brood parasites in my area. Obligate brood parasites have essentially lost all their parenting skills, and thus if they were ever unable to fool other birds into raising their young, they would (almost certainly) go extinct [1]. There are, however, other brood parasites in New Jersey. These are called facultative brood parasites, and these birds will usually raise their own offspring, but will also engage in brood parasitism. (Exactly when birds perform facultative brood parasitism seems variable; one source said it occurred when resources were scarce while another said it occurred when resource
Read more

Rooftop Turkey Vultures

Image
I met these Turkey Vultures by just walking out of my apartment. (I theoretically could have gotten a picture without going outside, but that extra layer of glass can degrade picture quality a little.) Although they don't show up on these rooftops daily, they're not an uncommon visitor to my apartment complex. Similar to this spot of the woods , I wouldn't expect this to be a great place to find carcasses. I'm thinking they're here mostly because: They don't have to worry much about predators up there. They get a pretty good view of the area in case something should happen to succumb. (This apartment was near the top of a hill, providing a better view than most of the other apartments.) Since this picture was from February, it's probably a slightly warmer spot, especially near those furnace vent pipes. Although these are Turkey Vultures, it's also not unusual to see Black Vultures up there too. February 28, 2023 at Finderne Photo 264703396, (c) jpviole
Read more