Turkey Vulture in my garage

Easydoesit

Easydoesit

AC Members
Mar 17, 2008
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Taxachusetts
No lie, there's a Turkey Vulture in my garage.
My brother goes "Emz, come here!"
Out his window I see a huge bird hopping in and out of the big hole in the top of my garage.
I couldn't decide if it was a turkey or a vulture. I didn't think there were vultures in MA, but it looked like a vulture.. and a turkey.
My brother googles "new england vultures," and sure enough.. it's a Turkey Vulture.

It's been hanging around for a couple of days. I think he wants to make my garage a nest. Nobody uses the garage(detached from the house), and the hole on top leads to the atticy part of the garage. It's like a cave kind of, the way that it is. Plus we live on top of a big hill, so he/she might like that as well.

Some info on the bird(68"-72" wingspan) from Wikipedia:
The Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura, also known in North America as the Turkey Buzzard (or just "buzzard"), is a bird found throughout most of the Americas. One of three species in the genus Cathartes, in the family Cathartidae, it is the most widespread of the New World vultures,[2] ranging from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South America. It inhabits a variety of open and semi-open areas, including subtropical forests, shrublands, pastures, and deserts.[1] With a wingspan of 173–183 cm (68–72 in) and an average weight of 1.4 kg (3.1 lb),[3] the Turkey Vulture is a large bird. It has dark brown to black plumage; a featherless, purplish-red head and neck; and a short, hooked, ivory-colored beak.
The Turkey Vulture is a scavenger and feeds almost exclusively on carrion.[4] It finds its meals using its sense of smell, flying low enough to detect the gases produced by the beginnings of the process of decay in dead animals. In flight, it uses thermals to move through the air, flapping its wings infrequently. It roosts in large community groups. Lacking a syrinx—the vocal organ of birds—its only vocalizations are grunts or low hisses.[5] It nests in caves, hollow trees, or thickets, each year generally raising two chicks, which it feeds by regurgitation.[6] It has very few natural predators.[7] In the United States of America, the vulture receives legal protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.[8]
Click to expand...
These aren't my pics bc i don't have a camera that hooks up to my computer, but here's what it looks like:


BTW, I babysat my little cousins(4&5 yrs old) at my house instead of theirs today, and they loved the fish tanks!

Turkey-Vulture.jpg TurkeyVultureShaverLake090606_7491.jpg
 
You might not want to allow those to make a nest in your garage..
When the babies hatch its not going to be a pretty sight.. neighborhood dogs & cats missing.. small kids... Sure its cool and everything. But I think I'd be on the phone to animal control...soon!
Wouldnt want them livin in my garage...

Besides just imagine the bird poop you'd get on your car!
 
Supersoakers are a good deterrant for getting rid of nesting birds. Also, just putting some netting over the hole works well.
 
I'd evict the bird too... the wastes (excrement and carrion bits and pieces) could be a source of disease and stank.

Q
 
i think its cool, but we have a cat and that bird was huge. when we saw my cat going into the garage to see what the noise was, my brother shot out a window of the garage with his BB gun to scare it.
we wouldve left it alone if i didnt have 2 outdoor cats. 'i have a vulture nest in my garage'.. lol, sounds crazy.
but hes/shes gone now. we saw him circling around a little while after we scared him, but havnt seen him for a lil while.

vultures waste and yuke is disease free.. they have something that kills all the bacteria in dead animals and stuff when they eat them. theyre good for that, stopping disease from dead animals from spreading and whatnot.
 
those birds are huge, I can imagine what you were thinking when you first saw it. I am like the others though, I think it's cool but I wouldn't want it nesting near my home. Regardless of missing cats and dogs and stuff, you have to consider the left over foods it's feeding it's young or harboring... and then the excrement. Could be more mess than it's worth.
 
true true.
my brother was the one freaking out when he saw it lol, it was funny. i didnt see it flying so i didnt get to see how big it really was.. but it was big even just sitting there.
i hope it doesnt have a hard time finding another nest
 
Those are my favourite birds lol! They are scavengers more so, I don't think they would go after dogs or cats...and especially not kids.
 
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