There had always been turkey vultures around the area, world's best soarers as some call them. Typically the same two mate year after year and I enjoyed seeing one "couple" return to an abandoned tree stand on the property every spring. There were always 2 eggs and 5 weeks or so later a couple of chicks.




What's this have to do with black vultures? Well last year I saw a turkey vulture land hard near the tree line in my yard with two black vultures attacking it, while 3-4 more circled above. The turkey vulture continued to be attacked as it half walked/flew into the woods. After a minute the two vultures that attacked it joined the ones circling above for another 10 minutes, and I've not seen a turkey vulture here since.

The smaller black vultures move in to an area, team up and run off the larger, more solitary turkey vultures. And unlike Turkey vultures, that only eat dead animals, black vultures will prey on vulnerable living animals as well. I've heard of them eating the eyes of new born fawn and calves.

A couple days ago I noticed them in a tree overlooking my pond where a pair of geese are preparing to nest.



Two geese have been coming for 8-10 years now. The goose tends the eggs on a little island in the pond while the gander protects and attacks anything that approaches the pond, LOL including Sophie my dog.
But I don't see how one pair of geese can protect the eggs, or if so and they hatch 4-5 goslings, against 6 or more black vultures?

Google says black vultures are protected under the "Migratory Bird Treaty Act" but I don't believe anyone around here would care were I to take a couple with a .22. Anyone here have to deal with black vultures?

Nature can be brutal, but sometimes you've just gotta let it do it's thing. I would highly recommend not taking pot shots at them, or harassing them in any way. The DNR doesn't mess around with federally protected birds, and you could find yourself in a world of legal and financial trouble. I won't even legally waterfowl hunt because I'm afraid of accidentally doing something wrong and getting in trouble with the DNR. I've heard some real horror stories.

The big black Turkey Vultures are very much a protected species . We had to get rid of some at work and it was a complicated and expensive process .

I'd argue let nature take its course.

Yes, there’s a shit ton of black vultures here in town and they roost in people’s trees. And there’s not a damn thing you can do about it, within the law.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
Nature can be brutal, but sometimes you've just gotta let it do its thing. I would highly recommend not taking pot shots at them, or harassing them in any way. The DNR doesn't mess around with federally protected birds, and you could find yourself in a world of legal and financial trouble.....

I realize nature can be and maybe you're right. It's just that these birds are not indigenous to the area and have run off the vultures that are. Maybe I'll contact the DNR. Apparently they can be a problem.


John Hardin has never had a problem with Turkey Vultures. The scavengers dispose of carrion around the Indiana farm where he raises about 40 cows and their calves. “They’ve always just cleaned up the dead animals,” he says. “They would never be aggressive.”

Then a different bird descended on his fields. Over the past several decades, in a shift scientists suspect is tied to climate change, Black Vultures have expanded their range from the South into the Midwest, north along the Appalachian Mountains, and up the East Coast into Canada. The population has also boomed, possibly in response to the 1972 ban on the insecticide DDT. In Indiana, Black Vultures were fairly scarce until the 1990s. Today more than 17,000 live across the state.

Unlike their redheaded cousins, the recent arrivals sometimes prey on the living. Black Vulture attacks, infrequent but devastating, typically occur when a cow, sow, or ewe is giving birth. “They just keep working on her until they wear her out,” Hardin says. The birds kill and eat newborns in gruesome fashion; occasionally they maim the mother beyond saving. Hardin says he’s lost six calves over the past three years.... https://www.audubon.org/news/b...oast%20into%20Canada.

As much as it sucks, I think you have to let nature take its course.

Apparently it's a problem all over the eastern US, WV is getting hit and it's been growing as the birds move further north.

You can blast off fireworks, lasers, but basically nothing since it's federally protected.

What needs to happen is to get them off the list, they are not native to NA..



In West Virginia, black vultures, being protected migratory birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, cannot be killed or destroyed without a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Migratory Bird Depredation permit.

Here's a more detailed explanation:

Federal Protection:

Black vultures are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), a federal law that prohibits the take, killing, capturing, selling, trading, or transport of native bird species without prior authorization from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

Permit Required:

To take, kill, or possess black vultures, a Migratory Bird Depredation Permit must be obtained from the USFWS.

Vulture Management:

If there are conflicts with black vultures, the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) can provide technical information and direct management assistance, including facilitating the permit process.

Non-Lethal Methods:

Vulture management can be complex and site-specific, with various techniques, including auditory and visual dispersal methods (lasers, propane cannons), and habitat modification, used to address conflicts.

Black Vulture Relief Act of 2024:

H.R. 1437, the Black Vulture Relief Act of 2024, would allow livestock producers to take black vultures that are causing death, injury, or destruction to livestock.

Reporting:

Livestock producers and their employees must submit an annual report to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) on black vultures taken under this bill.

Thanks guys, good info HRK. I'll keep an eye on them for now.

I thought the subject line was leading into an Al Sharpton joke.

A drone flight or two.

Not getting sideways with DNR or Federal Fish & Wildlife would be my first concern, which would prevent me from shooting them with anything. However, even if it were legal to shoot them, I’d be concerned about backdrop if using a 22. Knocking obnoxious birds out of a tree (where legal) with a shotgun is one thing, but to be comfortable shooting anything with a 22, I’d need a backdrop that didn’t involve the sky.

One company I worked for had a new building on some land with still a lot of land. They hired a company that would let dogs roam the area to chase away geese on their migration pattern. The understanding is that if the geese made it a habit to do a lay over there, then the company won't be able to develop the land as it will become a protected wildlife refuge.

We had Turkey Vultures roosting in an energized high voltage substation . They were creating all sorts of problems . We had to get permits from the Fish And Wildlife Service and hire a licensed " shooter " that used a large caliber pellet rifle to kill three of the birds . Then , one of our guys hung the carcasses high up in the steel . The Vultures left and took up residence across the highway . Sounds crazy but it worked for several years . After the carcass decomposes and the bones fall down they'll start slowly making their way back .

quote:

Non-Lethal Methods:

Vulture management can be complex and site-specific, with various techniques, including auditory and visual dispersal methods (lasers, propane cannons), and habitat modification, used to address conflicts.

Ok, that propane cannon has peaked my interest, anytime you get to use a cannon is a good thing....

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:

quote:

Non-Lethal Methods:

Vulture management can be complex and site-specific, with various techniques, including auditory and visual dispersal methods (lasers, propane cannons), and habitat modification, used to address conflicts.

Ok, that propane cannon has peaked my interest, anytime you get to use a cannon is a good thing....

[FLASH_VIDEO]<iframe frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ohc22xTRTOA?si=kcs1qa8dXtxEHeyE" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>[/FLASH_VIDEO]

I've heard those propane cannons . Your neighbors will burn your house down ...

We have Black and Turkey vultures in Loudoun County. They can smell something dead for miles.

The propane cannon looks interesting. For that matter I could just do more plinking on a regular basis.

I've seen the propane cannons used on a couple of landfills to chase away seagulls. It works for a couple of days until they figure out that it's just harmless noise. Then they ignore it. The best and most interesting method I've seen was on a site outside of Halifax, NS. They hired a falconer to come in a couple days a week.

When I was just a lad, my cousin Grover's family lived even further back in woods than we did. I was amazed how they kept a big flock of chickens when the abundance of hawks in our area meant death to most of our flock.

I asked him about it and he said most of the hawks in his area usually committed suicide at a very young age. He said they had an insurmountable urge to fly between him and his targets when he was practicing with his .22 rifle. (I later found out that his chosen practice targets were ANY limb that happened to have a young hawk sitting on it while admiring the flock of chickens!).

Now, I never called Grover a liar to his face. I might have been young and naive, but not so dumb to get in a fight with Grover. However, I do know that he routinely shot squirrels out of the tall hickory trees - shooting them in the head using the iron sights on his rifle.

Now, I ain't suggesting you adopt Grover's method of choosing practice targets, but it sure saved Grover's family Sunday dinners.