Suburban Wildlife – Things are Tough All Over

The other day I was driving through my neighborhood headed toward the main road when I came upon several cars stopped so that they were just about blocking the road.  It was an unusual occurence because our little neighborhood streets are not really prone to traffic jams.

As I slowed to a stop, I discovered the reason behind the problem.  One of our local squirrels had been unlucky enough to be hit by a car and standing next to it was a turkey vulture.  So, this was something of an event.

I’ve seen turkey vultures floating on thermals, but I’d never seen one this close.  It wasn’t really a pleasant experience except for the novelty of it. 

If you haven’t seen a turkey vulture up close, rest assured that it is an animal only a mother could love.  This bird was about 2 feet tall, and probably had close to a 6′ wing span, it had a feather-less red head and the skulking posture that makes it difficult to consider it a cute animal.

Supposedly, turkey vultures stay in open spaces such as fields and less dense wooded areas.  Evidently, no one explained that to this particular bird.  And, the other odd thing was the bird’s evident disregard for the cars and people around it.

Since I needed to be on my way, I started to advance slowly to get past the cars stopped on either side of the road.  Did the bird fly away?  No, it simply walked over to the side of the road to let me by, then returned to its dinner.

Perhaps the drought in our area has reduced the vulture’s opportunity for feeding in the open fields where it is supposed to stay.  If so, that’s another reason for me to want this drought to end. 

Given the vulture’s air of entitlement on our neighborhood streets, I imagine the next thing we can expect is a personal visit the next time we grill steaks . . . .