Vultures Visit the Magic Zoo!

Yesterday I noticed a couple of very large black birds hanging out high in the pines of our back yard. I called Ed to come take a look and he confirmed that they were vultures. They were spectacular- huge birds with bright red heads and necks. And…they did not leave anytime soon! About a half hour later I was checking the mail in our box by the street. When I turned around, there were two of these ominous looking guys sitting on my roof. What gives? I wondered..Well, apparently there was a dead possum in our yard.

I’m not clear on what our neighbors thought but the right thing to us seemed to be let them finish their meal, then bury the carcass. So, that’s what we did. I tried to spy on their activity from a crack in a curtain but that slightest motion was perceived by a beady vulture eye- and he fluttered clumsily off. So, I decided to let them dine in peace.
Our guests were turkey vultures- a family of birds of prey that includes the condor. I thought they looked pretty good up there on the roof and it sort of reminded me of a neighboring house where wood storks sit on the roof. I was told by a Florida old- timer that when birds congregate on a particular roof they are often going to a spot that formerly had a big nesting tree there which had been cut down to put up the house. Is that remotely true? The vultures definitely left after their supper and I haven’t seen them here again.