Gotta love those vultures for being living garbage disposals.

OH, TXGardn, your message brought back the time I ***HIT*** a vulture with my windshield. Lordy. Bounced on the roof and off the back. I was driving in the hill country on a real windy narrow road, being tail-gated (as usual) by someone who nodoubt lived there and thought I was too slow. They backed off after a huge buzzard came flopping off my car at them. Tail-gaters have a special rung in hell.

I agree about tailgaiters - I'm trying to reform DH.

This same road where the possum was served up has a 4 way stop on it. I came to the corner, and while waiting my turn (it's out in the middle of nowhere, and there is still traffic), a Turkey Vulture walks up to my window. His head was even with mine, so I rolled up the window real quick.

Talk about ugly. Dead possum would improve his mug.

Note to self......Do not read GW's Texas Conversations forum while eating breakfast.....Eeewwwww!

Kristi

Txgardenlady, you were lucky the vulture just looked at you and didn't breathe on you. Judging from their menu, their breath ought to be somewhat lethal!

I once found a young turkey buzzard that had been hit by a car;
I was going to pick him up but had a vision of that beak darting toward my eye...

so I called animal control & they got him corraled in a box & I took him to, if I remember right, A & B Vet Clinic on Garland Road.

They do all kinds of wild bird re-hab, & they told me he looked like a "healthy juvenile" & thanked me for bringing him in.

Nowadays, if you find a wild bird in the southern Dallas area, you can take him to the sanctuary in Wilmer.

Vultures are actually endangered in some places, their numbers are down. I think they are cute.
Never had to rescue one but I've rescued pelicans, comorants, ducks-large white domestic duck from the surf-I chased him through the 48degree water in the middle of winter with the air temp of 50-the only other person on the beach drove a big loop away from me-had to put him in a box and keep the dogs away-then put him in the bathtub full of fresh water until I could get him to the rescue, some huge seabird that never come to shore and tried to attack me as I was chasing him down the beach, cranes, birds exhausted from migration...Trudy Beltz in Texas City is a certified rehab. She is always in the paper and has been doing it for years. When I retire I'm going to take the classes and get certified and rehab birds here on the island.

If you find an injured bird in Galveston county or nearby areas call her, she can direct you to a rehab if you are out of her area. She's in the phone book or you can e-mail me for her number. I will pick up birds on the island and take them to her.
Tally HO!

PS, lots of goldfinches in the yard this week. And the sandhill cranes are back, hanging out at the airport around the runways.

We had a couple hang out every day for 9 days over the summer
At first, I thought it was creepy but after a while I thought it was cool
They didn't act ill, I don't know what was up with them

Gave up on you providing them with dinner did they? Glad you stayed with us!
Tally HO!

"chased him through the 48degree water in the middle of winter with the air temp of 50-
the only other person on the beach drove a big loop away from me"

LOL!

They are UGLY & BIG!
We get 2-4 that like to sit on the high part of our roof, I guess they're looking for dead fish in the lake??? I worry they might be watching my small puppy's,
Surprisingly, they don't poop on the roof.

Thanks Tally, me too, LMBO
Bev, I have never seen poop where they have been,now that you mention it, LOL

Also over 2 years old and still funny.

Just like all of us TXgardenlady, funny....no matter what age, HAHAHA

I have to respect vultures. They seem to have to do their duty on the road in a rough and clumsy way. They seem out of their element caught in act that seems so out of place on the side of a road. I love them after the rain. We had just killed a raccoon that had been plaguing our cats in the shop and we had put the carcass out in the front field. It rained the next day and then this gathering happened. I have had 2 other almost magical happenings with these birds. No they are not the prettiest of birds, but if one sees them in there natural space, they have a very graceful powerful and noble character. Kind of spooky at times. Their ritual of drying their wings like an act of worship is so awe inspiring.

Wow Mara! Those are GREAT photos!

Yesterday's PBS 'Nature' program was titled "The Beauty of Ugly" and part of it was about vultures; their very useful role in ecology as well as their gracefulness.

Part 2 on the link is about vultures. The whole program was good as usual.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Beauty of Ugly ...

Mara, those are great photos, thanks for posting them
Roselee, I recorded that but haven't watched yet, I know it will be good

Thank you. I am never far from my camera. I am on a hill near the drop off into the Pedernales river valley. There is a great updraft coming off this ridge of hills and the vultures do love to hover along this ridge of the Shingle Hills. I am often surprised by a rush of large wings and the shadow passing over me. I welcome their presence. I feel them passing in a strong way and it is a good feeling. Maybe I am just a tad off...left of center, an odd ball. I can see why the American Indians respected them. I admit to a growing fascination of them. I just don't like it when they sh#t on my car after a big feast. What a mess.

I used to think that my mother-in-law had to be some kind of ol' buzzard. I mean after all, the likeness was uncanny! Then as time went by and I got a lot older and a little wiser I realized that that she was really just an ol' bat!!!Billy

A couple years ago I once found one fried by the electricity from the electric lines on the pole above where i found it. Usually it's the squirrels found like that...often after we lose electricity because of them. Long time back DH had to tell me not to bury the corpses...when the electric company comes out they have to document them. I'm an old bat now...and bats are a good thing! Anything that eats mosquitos is welcome here!

I was born batty. When do I get to be a vulture. I want to do that thing they do on the wind.

Y'all are so funny! I love it ... I wanna' soar like one of those big birds too. Or a ride on a pterodactyl like the ones in the movie Avatar would suit me just fine and dandy :-)

One way I don't really, really don't enjoy encountering them is late at night. Sometimes I'll be walking along the driveway at night and all of a sudden...these humongous things in the tree near me start flapping around and making a heck of a lot of noise! I must have a strong heart, because I have survived the shock many times! Gets that old adrenalin pumping pretty good!

I see buzzards here, generally in ones or twos. But the day of the big snow, there were at least 20 of them all together, flying around. It looked quite odd, as they were not circling. Just flying around. Thought they were crows till I got a better look. Guess they couldn't believe the snow, either!

The wife wanted me to check out some turkeys walking around by our pond last week. Then a couple flew off and we realized they were huge vultures. I walked up there and they had cleaned up a good-sized catfish (that was the first one anyone ate since I stocked the pond two years ago).