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More Wildlife Rumbles: Turkey Vs. Turkey Vulture-Which Will Win?

Tuesday, December 2, 2014 1:27

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I don’t much like the kind of nature writing that starts out, “Turkey vultures are the Rodney Dangerfields of birds. They get no respect.” I mean, I would never write a sentence like that. To me, it smacks of pandering. It’s a too-obvious ploy to ingratiate yourself with the reader. Bleh.

It might not be immediately obvious, but this immature red-shouldered hawk is dissing this vulture by swooping in and perching right next to it. You can’t see the vulture’s head because it’s hanging down in shame.

Turkey vultures are the Rodney Dangerfields of birds.

They get no respect.

I do hate that kind of nature writing, but…oops, I just did it.

Even a wimpy immature red-shouldered hawk thinks he can take a shot at a turkey vulture. Because he can. He’s gonna get away with it. What’s the vulture going to do? Vomit on him?

And the big clumsy old vulture just ducks and takes it. I don’t get it. I respect turkey vultures.
I love turkey vultures. We need turkey vultures! So much so that every once in awhile when a white-tailed deer walks out in the middle of our meadow and drops dead, I just leave it there for them. And hunker down in the living room with my camera for the next day and a half, which is exactly how long it took seven turkey vultures to clean it up. The poor foxes and coyotes never got a bite!
So I’m watching these vultures peacefully feeding on October 8, 2104, and I see three wild turkey gobblers (as distinct from turkey vultures) walk up on them from the far reaches of the meadow. And my first thought is, “Well, this is going to be interesting.”

I’ve never seen an interaction between the two species, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to see one now. I wait it out.

The gobblers just stroll along, doing this cool thing with the little bluestem grass where they fling their naked heads out to the side, grip about halfway up the stem of the grass, then run the stem quickly through their bills and strip the seeds off it all the way to the end.

La la la la la. We’re eating grass seeds. Nothing to look at here. Vegetarians, we are.

Vegetarians with an attitude. Militant vegetarians.

But they nonchalantly draw closer and closer to the vultures, who had been happily stuffing themselves with deer liver. And as the turkeys moseyed closer and closer the vultures got their panties in a bunch and retreated to a handy snag (which we put there for them to perch on in the event a deer should drop dead under it).

Suwwounded!!

One vulture flies off, and the other flaps over to a fencepost near our bluebird box.

Those meddlesome turkeys follow it.

By now it’s perfectly clear what’s going on. It’s another rumble. A wildlife rumble.

When you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet all the way…

I absolutely love the aggressive poses of the turkeys. We so bad!

I don’t know why the turkeys would do this. It’s not as if they want to eat deer liver. It seems to me they’re intimidating the vultures just because they can. Because it’s fun.

Because they’re manturkeys and they need to dump a little testosterone, and the HogWild Gobbler Mud Run isn’t until next Saturday.

Something.

I mean, look at this! They’re embiggening themselves, standing sideways. The poor vulture feels invaded.

I swear I heard him say Booga Booga as he flapped his wings! It was definitely not Gobble Gobble.

Vulture does a perfect Rodney Dangerfield take toward the camera.

Did I hear a NYAAAAHHHH!? Look at the tail spread, the open bill on that Musketeer!

Vultures routed, the Meddlesome Turkeys go on their lazy, merry way.

I flippin’ love turkeys. Turkeys and turkey vultures both.

Here endeth the lesson.

Julie Zickefoose is a painter and writer who lives on a nature sanctuary in Appalachian Ohio. She is the author of Letters from Eden and The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds With Common Birds, due in spring 2012. http://juliezickefoose.blogspot.com

Source: http://juliezickefoose.blogspot.com/2014/12/more-wildlife-rumbles-turkey-vs-turkey.html

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