Vultures and EPO's

[UserRemoved1]

So today I'm upstairs in the bathroom hanging towel bars....look out the window to check the backyard to see if the new lawn is drying out yet....nope.

5 minutes later wife yells out "hey checkout the backyard there's a big hawk or something out there"

I look out and see this bird in the middle of the yard spread eagled out with wings fully extended...about 6-7' wingspan...holy crap and run downstairs to get a pic...

Get out there and see that it looks like a buzzard or something...get a few way cool pics.....and notice that it's got a hurt left wing...shame....so I call the local pd and they say call animal control...leave message...no response for over an hour so i start hunting around..call Ma Audubon, Ma wildlife, etc....no answer anywhere and no afterhours numbers. I spend probably 45 minutes on the fone, Tufts Vet clinic says no way unless I own it....

ACO shows up says it's about a 4 month old Turkey Vulture....and yep it's hurt....gives me a sheet with animal rehab people's numbers on it says it's my problem...start calling, talk to two and both say they can't touch em as their lpermit doesn't let them touch raptors....last guy says call the EPO's and at least they can give permission to put it down or do the right thing with it....so I do.....

Lady answers the fone, says "we don't deal with turkeys" I tell her it's a turkey VULTURE and she says AGAIN " we don't deal with turkeys" and again I say it's a turkey VULTURE.....a RAPTOR bird....she finally gets it and puts me on hold, comes back takes my info etc and says I'll get in touch with someone.....nope never got a call back.

EPO's suck.

Bottom line is he jumped the fence off a downed tree and is gonna be coyote food tonite.

Shame.

Did I mention EPO's suck?


Got some great telephoto pics from about 15' away and I'll post them when I get the film developed.

[maddog2020]

Did you try Tufts University - they have a wildlife rehab place out in Grafton? I know they take injured birds of prey.

I found a dead redtailed hawk when I was living in western MA - called the local EPO and he asked me to bag it and bring it over to his house. I did that so he could autopsy the bird.

There aren't enough game wardens/EPOs in the area. It is a thankless job. You run the risk of getting killed/shot at when you break up a party out in the middle of the woods.

If no one comes soon - put the bird out of pain (if it looks like it is suffering). If you can't do it let me know.

[Flaptail]

I wouldn't go near it. They eat all kinds of dead stuff and they are almost as ugly as Bassmaster !

[UserRemoved1]

Flap ALMOST

Maddog I called them first and they said they would only take it if I OWNED it.....otherwise not interested....go figure..yea I own a turkey vulture

[likwid]

Too bad Cornell is such a long haul

The Raptor Barn there would have come and picked it up in a heartbeat.

[UserRemoved1]

I would have thought it was kinda an exotic bird for Mass, I've only ever seen one once...ACO says they are pretty common...I was kinda bummed that no-one was interested in it.

[Mike P]

Originally posted by #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&
I would have thought it was kinda an exotic bird for Mass, I've only ever seen one once...ACO says they are pretty common...I was kinda bummed that no-one was interested in it.

They're about as exotic as seagulls And would draw just as much interest from raptor groups, as you just saw.

Go to any town dump and you'll find a few hovering over it. They're scavengers and carrion eaters.

[Slipknot]

What do you think Buzzards Bay is named after?

Don't be so hard on EPO's, they don't suck. So the woman answering the phone didn't "get it" , no need to catagorize all EPO's as s#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&g. You think it's an easy job and they should jump when someone says jump? , you try it

pop a cap into the thing and put it out of it's misery already.

[UserRemoved1]

yea whatever

go cut some poplar