BLACK VULTURE?

Black Vulture or we call them Buzzards.

You know it's hot when the buzzards come to water

​We have been hitting triple digits for several weeks. IT’S JUST HOT!
With this heat we have had all kinds of wild life coming in for water. For about three weeks now there is buzzards flying in to the water trough. In all my years I haven’t ever seen them drink from a trough or any water. They are always flying in the sky, eating road kill, or up on a buzzard tower. Have you ever seen them drink from a water trough?
We have been laughing and saying we should call our place “Tailspin Animal Refuge”. Hahaha!
Since the buzzards are coming in everyday I thought I would find out more information on them.
We have always called them buzzards or Turkey Buzzards. There official name is Black Vulture. The black vulture and turkey vulture gets confused with each other. The turkey vulture has more white on its wings than the black vulture. I never knew that till now.
Close to our water trough is a clump of trees and brush. I think they have a nest in that clump of trees. We have seen them walking into the trees. They really waddle when they walk. Only at our crazy farm…
Here is a video of the vultures in a dead tree near the goat pens making sounds. It was like a a scene from The Monsters.

The black vulture is a medium-sized, dark bird with a short, black tail, whitish legs, and a gray featherless head

• Size: Approximately 23 to inches with a wingspan of 55 to 63 inches.
  
• Weight: 3.8 to 5.1 pounds.
  
• Diet: Mainly carrion, but may also kill and eat small reptiles, birds, and mammals
  
• Incubation: 37 to 41 days
  
• Clutch Size: 2 eggs
  
• Sexual Maturity: Approximately 3 years
  
• Life Span: May live up to 25 years
  
• Range: This species has an extremely large range and can be found in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
  
• Habitat: Black vultures are most abundant at low elevations. They breed in dense woodlands but usually forage in open habitats. They roost in undisturbed stands of tall trees, including sycamores, pines, hickories, oaks, junipers, and bald cypress.
  
• Population: The total population is extremely large with at least 10,000 mature individuals. The population appears to be increasing and is not severely fragmented.
  Fun Facts
• Black vulture mating pairs may remain together and reuse a successful nesting site for many years.
  
• Both the male and female parents take turns incubating their eggs.
  
• Black vultures usually feed together in large groups, and are so aggressive that other vulture species will stay away.
  
• When startled, a black vulture may regurgitate partially digested food to discourage predators and lessen its weight for flight.
  
• Farmers watch the skies when they need to locate a one of their cows giving birth. The vultures fly high above the cows, keeping an eye out for the afterbirth.
  
• Vultures will often urinate on their own legs in order to increase evaporative cooling in the hot summer months. (just like a mister system)
  
• These awesome birds are able to eat diseased meat without getting ill!
  
• As scavengers, these birds play a vital role in the environment by removing decaying carcasses that could otherwise cause the spread of disease
  

Visit Sea Worlds Facts page to learn more about Black Vultures. I found it to be interesting.

Leave me your comments below to let me know what you think.
Until next time take care.

Blessings,
​Margarita & Stace