NATURE, HISTORY AND HORTICULTURE IN FAIRFAX COUNTY
VOLUME 8, NO. 4
FALL 2008
An IABC Silver Inkwell and AMPC MarCom Award and Hermes Creative Award-winning publication
Fun With Turkey Vultures They’re so cute. Standing there, tearing at a carcass on the side of the road.
T
urkey vultures have an oddly endearing look, as if they stepped out of a 1950s-era monster movie (It Came From The Side Of The Road).
You can’t miss them. They can be huge, over two feet long with a wing span of five feet, and are easy to spot in the sky. They’re great cruisers. Ellanor C. Lawrence Park Manager Leon Nawojchik says, “They can stay aloft for hours with little expense of energy.” Visually, they embody the junior high school word “eeewwwww.” Those popped-out eyes, hunched shoulders, the bald head and bags under the eyes are probably why turkey vulture dolls don’t sell as well as teddy bears. Turkey vultures generally eat meat, as humans do, though preparation techniques differ. Nawojchik says their meat is “perhaps more aged,” and they feed advantageously on dead animals called carrion. They don’t actively stalk to kill.
Turkey vultures aren’t cuddly cute, but they fill a key environmental cleanup role.
The wings on the turkey vulture in flight form a ‘V’ or ‘U’ with its head at the bottom. Eagles fly with mostly flatter wings. Photo by Leon Nawojchik
There’s a likely reason for that featherless head. When vultures eat carrion, they sometimes stick their head inside the carcass to reach the meat. Unwanted carcass parts with bacteria would tangle in and stick to feathers. The turkey vulture has few natural predators, although the young are vulnerable to coyotes. There’s human impact from the odd potshot of misguided sportsmanship, power lines or poisoned carcasses such as rats. Its primary form of defense is vomiting. The turkey vulture can cough up a lump of semi-digested meat that smells foul. The stuff will, as Nawojchik says, “dissuade an intruder.” Nawojchik says they’re “weather-dependent.” Clear, sunny days are ideal, allowing them to float on rising drafts of hot air and soar. In winter, they wait to fly until the sun warms the air. In wet conditions, they hunker down and rest in a tree. They’re a quiet bird. Despite the fierce look, the only sounds they make are soft hissings or a whining. They don’t build nests. Instead, they may lay eggs next to a log or in an abandoned building. Since turkey vultures migrate, the ones you see in summer may not be the same ones in winter. When on the move, they may follow coastlines or mountain ridges to take advantage of prevailing winds and updrafts. continued on page 9
WHAT’S INSIDE . . . Fall Events ..................... 2 Park Foundation ............ 3 Historic House ............... 4 Stewardship .................. 5 Poison Ivy ..................... 6 Cultural Resources .......... 7 Storm Drains ................. 8 Small Parks ................. 10 Staff ............................ 11 Visit a Park .................. 12
p Fairfax County Park Authority • Fairfax, VA 22035 • 703-324-8695 • FAX 703-324-3996 • TTY 703-803-3354 • www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/resources