Along our morning walks this summer, my friend and I continuously passed by an abandoned house on one of the Lines. It was situated on a larger lot and it looked like someone had purchased it with plans to eventually build a home there. It was a tear-down if ever there was one! The windows had been smashed to pieces, the roof had huge chunks missing and the peeling paint on the old wooden siding looked tear-streaked as if the house had been crying in sheer loneliness and abandonment.
As we passed the house quite early one morning, we were both astounded at the row of silent shadows perched on the rooftop. We both shuddered involuntarily at their presence. They looked like something from a horror movie, like black ravens against the blue morning sky, the stuff that would have inspired Edgar Allan Poe. My friend remarked that she had heard that they hovered around places where death had occurred, making us walk past the house at a much quicker pace than we had been walking until then. But my writer's imagination made me go back and take a few pictures with my phone for future reference before moving on.
Even though I couldn't directly see their eyes against the morning light, I knew they were scrutinizing me with interest. I realised that they were not crows or ravens, but turkey vultures, sitting silently, watching us go by. I noted their obvious silence with interest as they did not shift or even make a sound and, after googling them on Wikipedia, found out that turkey vultures do not really call, whistle or sing the way other birds do. They make hissing and grunting noises, adding mystery and darkness to their already bizarre presence.
Their keen sense of sight and smell play a major role in keeping our roads clean. These natural caretakers eat decaying flesh, mainly that of animals. But since it's Halloween, it's may be of interest to note that they have also been know to eat human flesh...
If you're ever driving down our rural roads and see a large dark bird at the side chowing down on road kill, take a second to watch as they lift in flight and get a close view of their massive wing span. They are absolutely huge in a somewhat graceful way. But their hooked beak makes them look slightly sinister. And like kids not wanting to share their Halloween stash with others, they don't generally share their food either. Though it should be noted that they roost in larger groups, which would explain why so many were perched on the rooftop when we saw them.
Sinister or not, turkey vultures are useful. They may have an off-putting presence that suits this time of year. But they are masters of their own domain, with very few predators that are actually a threat to their existence. And why would these predators eat turkey vultures at Halloween when there are plenty of treats to be had?
Lolita Schimann Hale
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