'Ultimate scavenger' turkey vulture may be N.B.'s newest permanent species

New Brunswick appears to be the newest,year-round,homefor the 'ultimate scavenger.'

The turkey vulture, a species first spotted inthe province about 30 years ago,has begun staying in New Brunswickthroughoutthe winter, despite not having feathers on its head or on its feet, as some birds do.

"For a longtime, I was wondering, whywouldn'tthey just migrate? It would be easier," said Jim Wilson, a bird expert credited withhaving documented some ofthe first turkey vultures in the province."Butthey haven't. Some of them have decided to tough it out."

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Oftenmistaken for eagles whenin flight, the turkey vulture's nakedred andpinkhead and skinlessbeak isunmistakable and, some would argue, downright ugly.

While its featherlesshead is well-adapted for plunging into the dead bodies of animals itscavengeswithout getting blood caught in itsplumage, the raptoris notwell-suited for cold New Brunswick winters.

But despite being bald in the dead of winter, thespecies appears to behere to stay throughout the year.

"Theydefinitelyare," Wilson said. "We have the biggestpopulationthat we know of in theKennebecasisValley. And we do a Christmasbird countevery year in late December and early January.And we can track andit'sconsistent."

"Thewinterof 2010-11 we had our first few turkey vultures that were here come Christmas bird count time," Wilson said."And it's been consistent every year since. We've had turkey vultures and an increasing number of turkey vultures every Christmas bird count since 2010."

Turkey vultures are renowned for their incredibly keen sense of smell, something Wilson saidgives them an advantage when scavengingcarcasses for food.

"They cansmell something as small as a mouse, under a pile of straw, from a couple hundred feet or more in the air," said Wilson. "Justfrom a little bit of odour that might come. And that allows them to find dead things in forested areas."

Moving north

Why the turkey vulture has decided to brave harshwinter isa question researchershave yet to answer, but Wilson says they may be taking advantage of human waste.

New Brunswick turkey vultures are known as the ultimate scavengers

7 years ago

Duration 0:47

New Brunswick appears to be the newest, year-round, home for the 'ultimate scavenger.' They first appear about 30 years ago.

"They've been going down to various dumpsters and food outlets in the Quispamsis area and feeding in the open dumpsters where they can find things that people throw out," said Wilson.

"They're veryintelligent, they're very quick to learn thesethings, sothat may have been aninducementto start to overwinter if they've been feeding there in the fall, and the food source has beenconsistent.

In its move north fromstates as far south as Florida, the turkey vulture brings with it a series ofbehavioursthat sets it apart from other birds in the province.

Vomit and porcupines

"One of theturkey vultures main forms of defence is actually to vomit all over itself,whatever the last thing it ate was which is usually pretty terrible," said Andrew Sullivan, a zoologicalpreparatorwith the New Brunswick Museum.

"Plus, adding in a very strong stomach acid that they have is a pretty gooddeterrentto any animal that has a strong enough stomach to try and face them."

The vulturesalsodon't build a nest like many birds, instead opting to lay their eggsundergroundin caves andcrevices.

"I was very lucky to be involved in finding one of the first nests," said Wilson, who recalls locating it back in 1988.

"It was in a hole under a pile of rocks in the base of a cliff in aremotespot, high up on a hillside," said Wilson. "And those birds used that nest, and it was full of porcupines, that rockpile. Which is aninterestingstrategy, because I would have a feeling thatwoulddeter predators perhaps."

Wilson said thebirdsreturned annually to thesame nest, alongside several generations of porcupines, for the next decade.

"If you put eggs somewhere in another cavity somewhere that didn't have the presence of porcupines, I can pretty muchguaranteeit that raccoons would find it in short order," said Wilson.

"And turkey vultures are not aggressive birds. They areextremelypassive.So,they're not going to defend a nest against a predator. They're just going to get out of there if they can and leave the eggs where they are."