Flock of black vultures vexes Virginia woman

DailyPress.com ^ | January 9, 2010 | ELIZA WINSTON

[Daffynition]

RIDGEWAY, Va. - The birds are watching Nancy Cox, waiting on her lawn and slowly chewing their way inside her Ridgeway home.

After a flock of almost 200 black vultures moved to Ridgeway this fall, Cox has had a steady stream of 30-35 large, hostile, hungry visitors each day.

"I can't even sit down to eat at the table," she said. "The vultures watch me through the window and fly into the doors trying to get into the house."

Cox has the only home in her neighborhood with rubber roofing. But she may not have it much longer. The vultures are steadily ingesting the rubber, leaving Cox with a leaky roof and shaky nerves.

According to Scott Barras, state director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services Program, black vulture infestations are a common problem in Virginia.

He said the vultures often damage property because they enjoy picking on rubber, although no one is sure why.

They damage roofs by pulling off corners of shingles, and they chew off the rubber seals around exhaust pipes, Barras said. He added that they often pull the rubber blades off windshield wipers while damaging a vehicle's paint with their large talons.

[snip]

[Daffynition]

[lawnguy]

Well Nancy, according to most old western movies, there’s a dead guy somewhere near your house.

[DemforBush]

Because I couldn't find the original Far Side comic...

[ransomnote]

I pictured numerous ambulance chasers (trial lawyers) surrounding her house. Then my mind drifted to a flock of Obamacare Dems........

[SWAMPSNIPER]

I have a small flock roosting on my property but they don’t bother anything. I’ve never heard of the situation described. There was a vulture many years ago which would beg for snacks around the service stations on one of the I-95 exits, but it wasn’t threatening.

[Domangart]

A democrat.

[Daffynition]

[fieldmarshaldj]

[GeronL]

This sounds like inner-city gang activity to me. /sarc

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

Nothing a good pellet gun can’t fix.

[Daffynition]

[rdl6989]

Ah, you beat me to the Hitchcock comment. :D

[Daffynition]

Democrats:

[blueplum]

sumbuddy needs to go fetch o’er to Widow Cox’s house and pick ‘em some feathers

[ebshumidors]

When we were living in CA, we threw the turkey carcass in the abandoned house next door’s yard and watched a vulture and a cat fight over it. Liquid induced entertainment.

[F15Eagle]

Does a scarecrow (scarevulture) work on these things?

Maybe they don’t have a natural predator? (other than each other?)

[Daffynition]

This seems to be a universal problem ...issuing permits and methods that don't work.

[Daffynition]

Maybe that's b/c your roof isn't made of rubbery material.

[Daffynition]

[1COUNTER-MORTER-68]

mmmmm,,,Full-Choke~~~#4 Shot,,,

Call me in the morning...;0)

[RC one]

ya know, that would just be...unnerving. Along similar lines, I pulled into my driveway this weekend and I believe I observed either a female or an immature bald eagle or, possibly, a golden eagle flying out of a large tree in my yard. It was a very large brown bird of prey and definitely wasn’t a hawk, owl, or vulture anyways.

[Daffynition]

You realize you forced me to post this, right?

[GovernmentShrinker]

And meanwhile, all across the nation, state and local governments struggle with how to dispose of old vehicle tires . . .

The birds want rubber, so GIVE them rubber already! Give them rubber that you WANT them to chew up. It's not like we don't have a virtually unlimited supply.

[Daffynition]

With a 5ft. wingspan, I would be intimidated if they came close.

[Daffynition]

"I can't even sit down to eat at the table," she said. "The vultures watch me through the window and fly into the doors trying to get into the house."

[F15Eagle]

I was gonna post this but didn't - now I HAVE to ...

[Atchafalaya]

Taze’em chere!

[Daffynition]

LOL ...See? there are practical solutions to the enviroweenies' complaints.

[Daffynition]

OMG! Perfect! ROFLOLLOL

[RC one]

If you get too close, they will regurgitate a highly putrid bolus of emesis at you as a defense mechanism. You don’t want to get close to them. They’re due to return here to Ohio on March 15th.

[Daffynition]

Lovely. I was going to suggest you get some camo and sneak up close to them and get some pix. Forget it. It was a bad idea.

[RC one]

Now that is really unnerving.

[pandoraou812]

Maybe they will move on to DC & roost at some Dem’s houses. It would be great to see them following Pelosi, Reid, Muthra etc around.

[exnavy]

Nothing a good 12 ga shotgun wouldn’t cure.

[melsec]

Nancy your dead and stuck in an episode of Twilight Zone!

[shibumi]

There are worse things in life than disembodied EVPs.

[Salamander]

What...the buzzards are saying her name?

She’s got nothing on Leesburg’s regular buzzard occuaption.

http://audubonmagazine.org/features0811/horrorShow.html

[Salamander]

The black ones come every spring and displace the year-round turkey buzzards.

Farmers hate them because they regularly arrive at calving/lambing time and *will* wait patiently behind the animals giving birth and feed on the offspring as its coming out.

Nasty things.

Whover said “5 foot wing span” fell short by a foot.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

I've seen them eat the afterbirth, never seen them kill anything. Their beaks are big, but not as powerful as a raptors beak. They prefer decayed or very soft meat, and will wait for decay to progress.

Old farmers have been know to tell old wives tales occasionally.

[RU88]

Just how far is Ridgeway from Washington?

[RetSignman]

[slowly chewing their way inside her Ridgeway home.]

Just fill out the census and they will go away.

[Zeppo]

Sounds like she needs a good recipe for Vulture a l’Orange...

[Daffynition]

Isn't it. OTOH, some good luck could come your way....

South Africans smoke vulture brains for lotto luck

[Daffynition]

LOL ...about 20 miles, as the crow vulture flies. ;)

[Daffynition]

No problem. But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will only issue you rubber bullets or crackers shells, and that is only after you have lost considerable property.

"I'm from the government, and I'm here to help you."

[Hot Tabasco]

"Patience my ass! I'm gonna kill something!"

[kalee]

ping

[Daffynition]

The right door mat helps.

[Salamander]

I’ll mention that to the old beef farmer up the road from who had his farm hands using the “SSS” technique after he lost so many calves.

[Or had to shoot the calves themselves after their “soft” eyes had been pecked out. Angus cows really aren’t especially vicious about watching over their babies]

Maybe things are more nasty in the mountains than the swamps.

*shrug*

[Daffynition]

LOL