April 22, 2010
Perching on the high branch of a tree at the bottom of the driveway of my house in the Hudson Highlands of New York State, was this "animal that nobody loves," an Eastern Turkey Vulture. The Turkey Vulture is the most common vulture in the New World.
Almost exclusively a scavenger (which means it eats the carcasses of dead animals), the Turkey Vulture rarely kills for its food. The Turkey Vulture tends to hunt by itself. It uses its highly-developed sense of smell to locate carcasses even hidden beneath a forest of trees. 
The Turkey Vulture on my tree was hunting in the area of my house which includes farmland with pasture and plenty of undisturbed forested areas for perching, roosting, and nesting. The large bird nests in dark recesses beneath boulders, on cliff ledges, in hollow trees, logs, and stumps, and in abandoned buildings.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
