A Vulture!?

Today we had a special visitor outside the bookstore and I would have missed the chance to see him if my coworkers had not alerted me. I was sitting at my desk when I heard them say “Tina did you SEE that!?” I ran to the window and yes, I definitely saw it. My eyes were fixed upon an enormous black bird soaring in the wind just over the lake. I tried to see what kind of bird it was because it did not look like our typical hawks (Red-Tailed) around here.  It was gigantic and so beautiful—I had to get closer. I went outside to try to get a better look and the bird flew over the lake and to the Visual Art Building’s roof. When I was outside I was able to appreciate how it was gracefully gliding over the water and only flapping its wings when changing direction. What a truly beautiful creature. I went online to research and identify what type of bird it was and quickly discovered the majestic, glorious animal to be…..A TURKEY VULTURE.

WHAT?! I thought vultures were supposed to be mean, nasty, ugly birds that just eat dead things with flies on them. I shook my head and thought ‘this can’t be what I saw’ but the various photos online confirmed that the bird I saw was indeed a Turkey Vulture.

The part about vultures eating dead things is true. Turkey Vultures are one of few birds that are able to rely on sense of smell to find food. They are attracted to the smell of mercaptan, a gas produced by the beginnings of decay. Turkey vultures eat carrion (a fancy word for carcass) and almost never attack live prey. They have good immune systems that keep them from catching diseases that dead animals might carry. I wonder what this vulture was looking for on the other side of the lake….

While eating dead things may sound gross, these birds really have an important job. They are helping us out by acting as nature's cleaning crew. These birds help control the spread of disease because they are able to dispose of the animals that could have passed disease onto other animals or even humans. Thank you, Mr. Vulture!

The Turkey Vulture’s flight style is described as slow, teetering soaring. It holds its wings in a “V” shape in order to maintain stability and lift at low altitudes. The vultures also fly low to the ground in order to more easily pick up the scent of dead animals. This certainly describes the way the bird was flying outside today. It just coasted in the wind and occasionally flapped its wings only when necessary.

The Turkey Vulture is described as a large, mostly black, hawk-like bird with a featherless red head. Most people are familiar with vultures since they are commonly depicted in cartoons and movies. I remember seeing vultures in Snow White and who can forget the silly vultures in The Jungle Book?

I feel grateful for being able to observe this bird today. I now have a completely different outlook on Vultures. I mean, sure, the birds like to eat carcasses and sometimes poop on their legs to cool off (yes I really did read that somewhere) they are extremely lovely and peaceful in flight.

I learned a lesson today. No matter how ugly or nasty someone or something can seem—there is beauty there somewhere!