What was that sitting on the roof of my barn?

Turkey Vultures - Turkey Vultures live on road kill, and many other kinds of carrion. They are important creatures because they keep our environment clean.
@barehugs (8973)
Canada
June 7, 2012 4:00pm CST
As I was coming home from work this afternoon I was shocked to see 11 huge black vultures sitting on my barn roof. When I talked to my son later he told me they were turkey vultures and it was his fault they were there. Apparently a cow had a calf in the barnyard this morning, and he forgot to clean up the afterbirth. Vultures live on carrion, and afterbirth is like a desert for them.
4 responses
@Bluedoll (16774)
• Canada
7 Jun 12
I am happy to see that these vultures are still around as so many creatures get wiped out for one reason or another. Every thing on this earth has a purpose and these bad boys work for the ministry of the enviroment house cleaning but aren't they some sight? Man some guys are just ugly.
1 person likes this
@barehugs (8973)
• Canada
7 Jun 12
These birds are not only ugly in appearance, but they smell terrible too. It must be what they eat that makes them stink so bad. If you get too close to them when they are feeding on a carcass they will spit at you.
@savypat (20216)
• United States
9 Jun 12
Vultures around here are called the clean up crew and they do a great job. They often roost in our very tall trees along the creek and are fun to watch. It's very difficult for them to get air bourne from those trees, they are body heavy for a bird and need an up draft to get going. One spring morning after a rainy night we woke up to quite a sight, in our front yard, which is fenced, there was a vulture on every fence post. We quickly counted our animals to make sure all were safe and then we noticed that each bird had it's wings spread out drying. Wish we had thought to take a picture.
1 person likes this
@ardoy0731 (7308)
• Philippines
8 Jun 12
Oh vultures,never had a chance to see those kind of bird for real.I just see them on TV and books.Are they harmful or do they attacked people?
1 person likes this
• United States
7 Jun 12
I had 5-6 of those birds land on the roof of my house once. It sounded like they were trying to break in with all the hopping and landing they were doing. I use to live right next to a nature preserve where there was a lot of wildlife and these guys could be seen frequently in the neighborhood.
1 person likes this
@barehugs (8973)
• Canada
7 Jun 12
I remember seeing 2 kinds of Vultures in Florida. Great numbers of them were sitting on the roof of a slaughter House, some were Turkey Vultures with red heads and there were Black Vultures with black heads and white tips on their wings.