Wordless/Wordful Wednesday - Turkey Vultures, Creepy and Disgusting

I am new to living in Central Oregon and so I have been noticing the wildlife and different natural surroundings that I come across every day.  Lately I have seen these huge birds flying in the air or perched on a branch and I had no idea what they were.  I have been trying to figure it out for the last few weeks and today I finally did.

I was out in the front yard yesterday afternoon playing with my 2.5 year old and my 6 year old when I noticed a huge bird circling over head.  At first it was really cool to watch.  Then, I noticed there were three - and they starting circling above us.  Then from a distance two more came to the party.  I was on the phone with my mom and I was describing the birds to her and how there were now five circling above us.

Then it hit me.  That phrase - the vultures are circling - and I realized that's just what they were.  These particular vultures up close kind of looked like turkeys too.  Who'd a thunk, Turkey Vultures.

Then my mom freaked out and told me to go inside with the boys because she has heard of hungry vultures swooping down and picking up small dogs and other animals.  She said they were probably circling over my little Emilio!

Naturally I then freaked out and told the boys to go inside and get some ice cream - cause they haul balls when they hear ice cream.

What do you know, the minute the boys went inside the vultures stopped circling and flew off.  I didn't see them again last night, believe me, I checked.

Vultures are supposed to only circle dead animals, not live ones.  But they do enjoy fresh dead meat so who knows if those damn birds were thinking that they could just lift him up and drop him, which would kill him and then presto - fresh dead meat.

So creepy, so very, very creepy.








Kimberly

Comments

Alison said…
We have Turkey Vultures in NY. How scary though. Never heard of them taking children though... could be possible I guess.
Crystal said…
Yuck! We have them here, I always see them "feasting" EWW
Kathleen said…
Ewww. They definitely are creepy. Of course, I hate birds of any kind so it is no surprise that I don't like these birds either.
Stacy Uncorked said…
I have heard of them snatching up small animals, but haven't heard if they'd snatch up small kids - better safe than sorry, though! :)

WW: Alligator Fun
Marianna said…
Creepy for sure. And probably the ugliest bird in the world. Bleh.
MTgunfighter said…
The vultures weren't circling anythings. Birds ride 'thermals' which is hot air rising in a column. This why they circle-because the thermals give them lift. All birds do this.

Turkey vultures eat carrion almost exclusively.

I turkey vulture wouldn't be able to pickup a child, even a new born. The dog would have to be extremely small. The average vulture weighs about 3 pounds. They don't want to expend energy chasing live prey, when carrion is available.

Both the golden eagle and the bald eagle cruise on thermals and will eat carrion if available. The osprey feeds almost exclusively on fish, generally small fish

Turkey vultures have an extremely large olfactory cavity and smell food from miles away.
I am Harriet said…
I'm with ya! It's like something out of an old Hitchcock movie.

http://harrietandfriends.com/2011/05/nearly-50-years-and-11-presidents-as-queen/
tiff snedaker said…
I would have gone inside for ice cream too. Creepy vultures.
Sharon said…
They are very creepy.
Tammy said…
LOL! Only you and your mom would think they were coming for Emilio! I am laughing thinking of the monkeys carrying off Dorthy in the Wizard of Oz...:)

Just giving you crap because I can't do it in real life anymore! :)
More Than Words said…
Oh my gosh..I would have been freaked out!!!! LOL
Unknown said…
They are super creepy! I don't need to see one ever again!
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