Turkey Vultures in the Pacific Northwest

Driving home on my usual route last month, as I drove past a normally empty field of grass, three large and unfamiliar birds were congregating less than 5 feet from a residential road.  I couldn’t identify them right away but they were the black-bodied, the size of pheasants and did not flee from my car driving 35 MPH.  When I went back to get a better look, I found there were three turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) eating what appeared to be the remains of a road kill coyote (Canis latrans).  Coyote are normal enough in this location, but the turkey vultures were something I had never seen in this region before.  I had witnessed vultures eating carrion once before, but that was in Arizona in the heart of the Mojave Desert, which is (needless to say) very different in terms of habitat.  I have lived here in western Washington my entire life and was surprised to learn that turkey vultures were not only present and abundant, but native.  The Turkey vulture occupies the southern United States all the way to the southern tip of south America year-round, but in the summer the northern hemisphere population migrates as far northward as central Canada for breeding.

Turkey vultures congregating around the remains of a coyote.
Photo by Dustin Gleaves

The first encounter with the turkey vultures was strange, but stranger still was the following morning when the now nearly-bare coyote remains were surrounded by not only the three turkey vultures, but also by what I presume was a family unit of three bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus):  One adult male, one adult female, and one juvenile.  Unfortunately the bald eagles were more timid than the vultures took flight before I could get an additional photo.  Bald eagles usually catch live prey, but are opportunists, about ¼ of a bald eagles diet comes in the form of scavenged carcasses. 

It appeared that the turkey vultures were waiting for the eagles to finish eating, each was standing facing the coyote at a distance of about 5 feet.  In areas with high bald eagle population density, bald eagles sometimes pirate food from each other, usually when a dominant male takes away a lesser eagle’s catch.  It stands to reason then, that this behavior works to displace smaller birds of other species as well.  The turkey vultures made a wise choice to yield to the eagles, given that they were vastly overpowered, and there was clearly enough to share.

Creative commons (Photo by Wikipedia user Dori)
Notice the perforated nostrils which detect scent more effectively and are easier to keep clean

The turkey vultures remained in that spot off and on for the next week and a half, frequently leaving and returning. The eagles never returned.  When the turkey vultures left for good, the coyote remains still had meat, but it had likely gone rancid in that amount of time.  Turkey vulture do scavenge, but they will not eat rotten meat.  It still seems strange to me that I have never seen a turkey vulture in this region before even through this region is in their migratory range, but perhaps they are simply more adept at avoiding human contact and visual exposure than most other bird species.

Observations:

-Turkey vultures do a lot of standing around next to their carrion, not eating.  Perhaps they were full but didn’t want to lose their spot?

-Turkey vultures are present in Bellingham, WA in late April to early May.

-Bald Eagles will eat carrion in place, on the ground, but will flee if humans or cars approach.

-The turkey vultures did not flee even as I observed them from only 5 feet away with a car engine running, or when cars would pass going 35MPH, which I would expect to frighten away most birds.

- The smell of a recently deceased coyote is extremely strong, I was overpowered standing only 5 feet away, and could detect it from more than 25 feet away.  It is possible that the popularity of the site was due to the exceptional olfactory sensitivity of scavenging birds detecting the remains from a very wide distance.