black buzzards/ ohio w.va

[JbarL]

  spoke with a local friend  in southeren ohio this evening...he was talking about foks starting to see  black buzzards in that part of ohio/ and in w. virgina....predators to "live" calves/ dogs/ deer ect....anyone have any dealin's with them aournd there?....not supposed to be native that far north i thought ?    thanks jbarl

 

[TPX]

We live up in Canada and about four years ago we had two turkey vultures show up and they are not suppose to be native to this area either.  The have been nesting inn some old buildings on a old abandoned farm yard that we have and every year it seems like the population of them has doubled, the other day I counted them and there were at least 15.  The have to be on of the ugliest birds ever and we arent allowed to shoot them and the warden said to not even get close to them b/c the defence is to throw up on you from above and he said that it is very acidic.  I dont think that they eat live animals though but they do clean up somthing that is dead in a hurry.

 

[oakbar]

We've had Turkey buzzards around for some time now and I can honestly say that I have never heard of anyone complaining about losing any livestock to them.  They are a carrion eater and you always see them cleaning up road kill, etc.  We worry more about coyotes in this area although I have never lost a calf to them either.  To be real honest, we have had more problems with feral dogs than anything else over the years.

 

[JbarL]

being from that area myself i had " never" heard of such a bird either....basically one that eats "live" prey....this thing is not a "vulture" per say, but a very large black headed "buzzard" looking bird ( obviously in the vulture/buzzard family )...... looks are almost identical to a vulture or " turkey buzzard"....except it has an all black head....i think they are indiginous to like south texas ect....they "hunt and kill" alot like a coyote....attacking the young, or lame or isolated anmals....claves included...they fly into there eyes, and claw and peck there eyes out  and render them blind and helpless......then eat them while they are still alive....a little further reasarch has confirmed there existance and " nasty habits"....but ohio and west virgina are "way" out of there natural range.....i thinks so far folks are just reporting "sightings" in the oh/wva river areas...just courious if any other "siighting " or articles in the local surronding areas can verify.....thanks  jbarl.

 

[Malinda]

I have red headed and black headed vultures around here. The black headed ones showed up about 5 years ago in my area of SW Ohio. The Ohio Dept of Ag sent out fliers describing them and warning about them killing calves, lambs, fawns, etc. I had several of them sitting on top of one of my barns watching a cow calve. Soon as she calved she got the calf up and actually shoved it up hill to the main barn, as far away from the vultures as she could get. That particular cow I bought as a calf from Barkhurst Ranch in Wyoming; those Wyoming cows know how to protect against varmints!

I had the cow/calf pairs in the back part of my pasture. It borders a creek and a woods, although they can't get into the creek and woods.  They could get into 2 lots and barns near the house during the day and then they would go to pasture in the evening. Then they suddenly stopped going into the pasture. They stayed in the lots and picked the grass down to the dirt. I thought if they got hungry enough they would go to the pasture but they didn't; I finally had to feed hay. I weaned those calves Aug 21 and the cows hung around for a couple of days and THEN WENT TO THE PASTURE. I think they must have had a close encounter with a pack of coyotes or a bear and were afraid to take the calves back out there.

Who knows what goes bump in the night or flies over head!

Malinda

 

[BIGTEX]

They usually will peck their eyes out first. It almost always is a weak calf, just born and the mom isn't very protective(or something is wrong w/ her). We have a power line at our farm where they roost, must be a hundred of them at night.

 

[farmboy]

thanks for the heads up, i havent seen any yet but when i do its bye bye birdie. will start packing my birdshot

 

[doubled]

I hate those darn things, when I see them here I know something is wrong  :-\

 

[sjcattleco]

Yes they are here about 10% of the buzzard population are the nasty black ones.  We have had a few problems with them!  As a rule the turkey buzzards are a very flighty bird that wants to stay as far from you as possible.. the black ones are very bold and will stand their ground....

 

[farmboy]

you guys think a 20 guage or a 22mag would be more effective, 22 mag for long range 20 guage for flight

 

[doubled]

ohmy

 

[BCCC]

I would say the 20 gauge would work best since they normally are kind of stuborn, but I think if they were sitting the 22 would work equally as well

 

[shortyjock89]

If I saw one sitting, I would bust out the .223 or .243.  I don't want that sucker flying away.

 

[farmboy]

i think if ya hit em right they wouldnt fly

 

[JbarL]

thanks all...especially sj and zach.....we are not that far from each other " as the crow flys"....might want to use something a little quieter while considering  your caliber options...believe it or not...they may be protected......and after watching the turkey take over all of the mast over the last 20 yrs in southern ohio.....under the guidance of a federal "relocating" plan and federal protection plans ......our locals are going to be a bit leary of letting anything get out of hand like that agian.....so regueardless of your caliber choice..... check your local , state and national regs.........and of course......." control responsibily "          jbarl 

 

[shortyjock89]

Good call JbarL, but just for me personally, if I see one on the ground, and I shoot it, no one will say anything.  I live out in the middle of nowhere, and a rifle shot or two during the day isn't a big deal now that it's getting to be coyote hunting season.

 

[jnm]

It's only a crime if you are caught!

 

[JbarL]

our locals have had to address "problems" with.... deer/turkey/coon/coyote....ect....for some time now...seems the smaller "less organized"  groups of individuals monitoring  and  " tagging"   each species based on there own particular "inconvenience" they pose, has greatly increased  our  groups  eco/ and financial concerns as well...    jbarl

 

[dutch pride]

It's only a crime if you are caught!

Sorry but it is a crime is still a crime if you are caught or not. The only difference is if caught there may be a penalty or consequence involved. Even with that, crimes committed without being caught can cause damage to ones soul. How do you tell the difference between right and wrong? How do you teach the next generation? Some laws are OK to break  if they do not fit your personal set of values? I think that this line of reasoning as led us on a slippery slope to lawlessness.

DLZ

 

[BIGTEX]

I didn't think it was against the law if they were damaging crops or livestock. I am sure I am wrong, but I was under that impression.