More calm awareness of the indoor class situation than the raptors seemed to display. It had a beautiful ivory beak and blue eyes. The eye color was unusual, said the handler. Anyway, I can’t think of them as ugly any more.

son of the guy who supplied critters to ray raynor. supplied the critters for groundhog day. used to come every dec to a bird club i belonged to.
he had 1 of these guys. i dont think they’re ugly. i think they’re cool.

he also had a huge snake, a python, iirc. we all brought our kids for that meeting, and he’d line them up and drape that snake across them. lol. it was somethin.

and I'm told that at least some species court in the air, which must be gorgeous to see.

... I happened upon a vulture picnic which startled me as much as it did them. Be warned! Vultures can projectile-vomit a considerable distance! NOT a pleasant experience.

You made my inner thirteen-year-old laugh raucously.
For obvious reasons, I don't let him loose in public very often.

unlike Turkey Vultures. Probably some angry farmer that lost valuable livestock. Not saying that's justification for illegal behavior, but they are known to be more than just scavengers.

Eagles, red tail hawks and Cooper's hawks go after my chickens. Though they keep the rabbit and field rat numbers down. I just put up a flapping piece of tarp to keep them away. I would never kill them. Yeah, they make me angry when they get through my defenses, but why kill birds just doing their job.

But I have never seen a black vulture attack any of my lambs, chickens or calfs. There is a thermal above my house that they like to catch upwards. They fly overhead all the time.

And it is weird, but never lose chickens to hawks and they are around all the time. Now skunks, coyotes, and coatis...

Muskrats even escaped pigs go after my chickens. I have electric mesh fencing all around them now. That keeps the land predators down to a rare killing. But when they come from above, they are a little harder to keep away.

Everything likes to eat chicken.

and their population growth in the eastern US is pretty amazing.

rather have another warm blooded predator than screw worms, though!

Usually one of twins. They'll move in and eviscerate the first born while mom is busy with the second. Some states have problems with them going after calves but I haven't experienced that. Yet.

Not a fan of black vultures. Turkey vultures are all good.

I have had fist born lambs die because Mom got busy with number 2 and just left him. But it was a very cold morning, or it may have been born dead. But no vultures anywhere. I got the carcass disposed of rapidly to avoid attracting coyotes and other predators.

Just doing his part in keeping America great…

Seems likely they were baited with poisoned carrion, their corpses gathered up and dumped.

I don't think anyone on DU is pro-Black Vulture poisoning. The hillbillies that did this don't visit liberal discussion boards.