A turkey vulture in flight with its wing tag clearly visible.
by Art JonesThey are among the ugliest and dirtiest birds you can ever encounter! If you get too close to one of these it may drool or even vomit on you or, if frightened enough, it will hiss, making a sound like a steam engine. The adults have an amazing sense of smell that helps them find food. And, they stink!
Not surprising since, for them, a gourmet meal is anything that has been dead for a couple of days, including skunks.
They are turkey vultures and they are among the largest birds found in Canada. Their wingspan is close to two metres and they can weigh as much as two kilograms. They are brownish black, and fly with large outstretched wings. Their naked, red heads are also visible in flight.
“They are darned ugly but once you get to know them they are fascinating,” says Dr. Stuart Houston, an authority on the birds of central North America.
Dr. Houston has been studying turkey vultures for years and is part of Saskatchewan’s turkey vulture nestling wing-tagging program, the only one in North America. Leg bands are not used because the bird’s droppings can collect on them and eventually build up to a point where the leg will become damaged. Wing-tags are large green tags with a big white letter and two large white numbers on each tag. Someone using a pair of binoculars can read them on the wing of a flying turkey vulture. Fourteen young birds were tagged in 2003, 30 in 2004 and 43 in 2005.
“The number of turkey vultures in Saskatchewan has been increasing over the past few years, partly the result of the changing prairie agricultural landscape,” says Houston. “Turkey vultures normally lay one or two eggs on the ground under dense bush, in hollow logs or in potholes and caves in cliffs or along the banks of lakes and rivers. But in recent years they have moved into a new nesting habitat, deserted, windowless houses, barns and granaries in rural areas. This has extended their range north into Saskatchewan’s parkland areas.”
Turkey vultures are very cautious and secretive at nest sites. They will find a nest location that is away from people and often surrounded by trees. They will also examine the area very carefully before returning to the nest each day. In the morning turkey vultures will perch to sun themselves with their wings extended and wait for the air to warm so they can soar on the rising thermal air currents. The birds can fly for long periods without flapping their wings and if they cannot find a thermal air current they will create lift by "rocking" their wings back and forth. All the time they are soaring they are searching for the smell of decay that will lead them to food.
"They have also found an easily available food supply in the animals that have been killed by vehicles,” says Frances Bennett, Saskatchewan Environment zoologist. “Turkey vultures, like other scavengers, play an important role in keeping our environment healthy and clean. They willingly consume a wide range of carrion including deer, birds, and other dead animals, making them great “cleaner-uppers”. Turkey vultures also have important adaptations for feeding on dead animals: their “iron-clad” stomachs can kill most types of harmful bacteria found in decaying foods and because dead animals can be very messy, they do not have feathers on their heads.” This is a valuable adaptation for avoiding a “bad feather day”.
Turkey vultures are migratory, spending their winters as far south as Colombia and Venezuela. Every fall over one million of these birds fly over Xalapa, a city in the Mexican state of Veracruz. One turkey vulture, tagged west of Leoville, Saskatchewan, wintered in Costa Rica, another one, tagged near Nora, Saskatchewan, was spotted in Maracaibo, Venezuela!
“We begin tagging young turkey vultures in early August,” says Dr. Houston. “We rely on local people to inform us where turkey vultures are nesting in the province. Once we find a nest, we tag the young birds before they can fly away! I encourage people to check every deserted farm building for vulture nests, but please wait to do so until after July 1, when the young have hatched and parents are unlikely to desert them. Be extremely careful, as some buildings are not safe to enter. If you determine that a building is safe, look in the basement, attic and clothes-closets, smell for rotting food and listen for a loud “steam-engine” hiss. Some of the owners of these buildings are actually encouraging the vultures to stay on by making enough repairs to keep the buildings standing for a long time to come.”
Dr. Houston says if you spot a turkey vulture nest or see a bird with a wing-tag, jot down the location, date and number of the tag and call 306-244-0742 before 9 p.m. or email the information to houstons@duke.usask.ca.
For more information contact:
Dr. Stuart Houston
(306) 244-0742
houstons@duke.usask.ca.
Frances Bennett
Zoologist
Saskatchewan Environment
(306) 787-7197
fbennett@serm.gov.sk.ca
Or
Art Jones
Communications Consultant
Saskatchewan Environment
(306) 787-5796
(306) 536-8452 (cell)
ajones@serm.gov.sk.ca
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