Turkey Vulture in my garage
- Thread starter Easydoesit
- Start date
TUVU (official abbreviation for turkey vulture) are pretty interesting birds. They are exceedingly unlikely to kill a dog or cat, or even think about attacking one. I wouldn't worry about the neighborhood cats. They're not built to kill things; they may sometimes catch something small and sick and kill it, but not frequently. They eat dead things; preferably fresh dead, but since they "hunt" by smell, it's usually pretty dead by the time they get at it.
If it truly is nesting, it'll regurgitate food for its nestlings, rather than carrying something back, so you shouldn't have too much in the way of icky dead meat lying around the garage attic. It's not really the right time of year for it though. It will likely make a fair bit of poop though. TUVU will defecate on their legs as a mechanism to cool down in the summer. They will stand around sunning themselves in the morning to warm up for the day.
TUVU tend to be relatively social birds, and you can sometimes find a whole kettle of them ("kettle" = "flock of raptors") sunning themselves together in a tree. You certainly can see large numbers of them circling together over what I presume are areas where something big and dead is.
Personally, I think it's kind of cool, but since one of my interests is raptor rehab, I suppose I may be in the minority. They're pretty common around here, though for some reason relatively rarely get brought in for rehab purposes.
If it truly is nesting, it'll regurgitate food for its nestlings, rather than carrying something back, so you shouldn't have too much in the way of icky dead meat lying around the garage attic. It's not really the right time of year for it though. It will likely make a fair bit of poop though. TUVU will defecate on their legs as a mechanism to cool down in the summer. They will stand around sunning themselves in the morning to warm up for the day.
TUVU tend to be relatively social birds, and you can sometimes find a whole kettle of them ("kettle" = "flock of raptors") sunning themselves together in a tree. You certainly can see large numbers of them circling together over what I presume are areas where something big and dead is.
Personally, I think it's kind of cool, but since one of my interests is raptor rehab, I suppose I may be in the minority. They're pretty common around here, though for some reason relatively rarely get brought in for rehab purposes.
Dangerdoll
Global Moderator
LOL, that is a little crazy there! They are around here, and when I use to live in WI...they were pretty common there too. Yes, they are huge birds thats for sure. They as far as I know pretty much eat already dead things. Although I'd have to agree with others, really may not be such a good idea to let it live there.
it is indeed interesting stuff equus.. i like birds, theyre cool with me. ive seen a bald eagle before flying near my house. in a town that connects to mine, about 20 minutes away along a river, there's a bald eagle nesting area i guess(i read it in the paper).. some time in '07 a couple of chicks hatched i believe.
yup G, its gone.. i think
ive never seen one before now.. didnt know they were common. never would have expected to have a huge vulture chillin in my garage lol
it was an interesting story to share w/ friends n fam for sure
yup G, its gone.. i think
ive never seen one before now.. didnt know they were common. never would have expected to have a huge vulture chillin in my garage lol
it was an interesting story to share w/ friends n fam for sure
That freaks me out I would have pissed my pant Im terrified of Birds a vulture would give me a heart attack probably!
