Nesting Neighbors

Driving home from Hawk Mountain Sanctuary on October 4th was especially anxiety-inducing. The steady misting rain on the highway would have normally kept my foot hovering the brake, but on this day I uncharacteristically occupied the passing lane. I was expecting company – two Hawk Mountain biologists and a van full of trainees were 20 minutes behind me. About a month prior, I reached out to research biologists David Barber and Bracken Brown about a pair of black vulture chicks who resided in the old barn on my property. Black vultures are unique in their nesting behavior, not building much of a nest at all and laying eggs on the ground, often in empty human structures. This was not the first year my family noticed vulture chicks: we had been gracious neighbors to their parents for the past four breeding seasons. And that day we were hoping to tag the chicks, the last two of the season for the researchers.

Hawk Mountain has been studying black vultures since 2010, though turkey vulture research began in 2003. Led by David Barber, black vulture data is collected through the monitoring of active nests, tracking of migratory movements using satellite telemetry, and wing tagging. By placing wing tags on nestlings, researchers are able to study survival rates and population dispersal among young birds after they fledge. Wing tags are blue or yellow with a large number printed on either side, similar to a livestock tag. Observers can report tag color, number, and location of tagged birds through Hawk Mountain’s website or directly to David Barber.

Arriving home, my dad and I cleared a spot in our shed just in time for the white van with the hawk’s head logo to pull in the driveway. I was nervous—though it was not my first time joining the researchers on a vulture-tagging trip, I felt these were “my vultures.” The behavior of wild animals is never predictable, and since I couldn’t coach their good behavior, I just hoped for the best as we opened the red door and entered the barn.

Bracken and David carried large nets, ready to scoop up the chicks as they scuttled to their corner to hide, but unfortunately it would not be so easy. Looking up we could see two large black birds in the rafters—they had already begun to fledge! I felt a mixture of pride and failure, thinking the likelihood of getting them down was hopeless, but David and Bracken did not skip a beat. Up a ladder Bracken went, attempting to dislodge the young birds with his net. The first chick went quietly, a slow flap to the ground and scooped up by David’s ready arms. The second chick needed a little more encouragement, with my dad getting involved in the ladder-climbing. Once #2 was safely captured, they were brought to the shed for measurements and tags.