Vultures in this area,who knew?

[Bottomfeeder]

Yeah they're actually pretty common on the east coast, go to Jersey, Turkey Vultures are everywhere never seen a Black Vulture yet though.

 

[Brewster320]

We have a bunch of them here in MA, you see them in more in NH and ME though. Always see them circling in the sky. Never seen a wild one up close though, and never a black vulture, don't know if they come up this far North.

 

[Wiggles92]

For a Philly guy,it's a big enough deal to see a hawk and now this.I hope to be able to see one up close one of these days.

All you need to do is find a dead animal that is starting to decay and just wait for them to show up. They usually show up within hours of an animal dieing during the summer; it sometimes takes them a bit longer while its still cold. I feed the local ones near me the groundhogs we witness digging holes in our yard and field.

 

[krichardson]

All you need to do is find a dead animal that is starting to decay and just wait for them to show up. They usually show up within hours of an animal dieing during the summer; it sometimes takes them a bit longer while its still cold. I feed the local ones near me the groundhogs we witness digging holes in our yard and field.

I won't even venture to ask how the groundhogs become carrion lol... That must be a sight to see them swoop down for a feast.

 

[Vicious_Fish]

Here's a few photos I took last year of some Turkey Vultures I saw while hiking one of the ridge lines of the Appalachians. On this trail they frequently bask on the boulders and sometimes you can sneak up on them but on this day they were already in the air. It was pretty cool to watch them use a thermal to rise to really high altitudes.

 

[krichardson]

Seth after seeing those shots I think some of the large birds I've seen high in the sky in certain areas might have been vultures rather than hawks.....In the news link,can you tell which species those are?

 

[Chefken]

Lots of Vultures here too....neat trick: when you see large birds soaring or circling watch how it glides....if there is a dip/wiggle when they fly it is a vulture....Hawks and Eagles fly straight!

 

[krichardson]

Lots of Vultures here too....neat trick: when you see large birds soaring or circling watch how it glides....if there is a dip/wiggle when they fly it is a vulture....Hawks and Eagles fly straight!

I'll try to keep that in mind Ken.I love watching them and if I could,I'd have one as a pet,like a falconer.It's why I took enough of an interest in the news story to post it here.

 

[Vicious_Fish]

Seth after seeing those shots I think some of the large birds I've seen high in the sky in certain areas might have been vultures rather than hawks.....In the news link,can you tell which species those are?

It's a good chance they were. Turkey Vultures are pretty common in most of PA and if you see multiple birds soaring together it's most likely these guys.

All birds of prey have their own particular way of flying/soaring and if you learn their silhouette you can pretty much pinpoint what species it is.

 

[Vicious_Fish]

I just watched the video and those are all Black Vultures. Southern Pennsylvania is about as far north as they live.