Vulture Update
January 2nd, 2007I like to stand so still that I can hear their wings as they slowly flap overhead. I like it when they take over a rooftop, forty or fifty to a ridgepole, etched against the sky like the spiky palings of an iron gate.
But this fall I counted at least 200, meaning that the flock has quadrupled in size. I suspect cat food is a major factor in their explosive growth. Today I counted six cat shelters, most covered in waterproof camaflouge, and a number of cat dishes.
It is only a matter of time until the owners of the nearby apartment complexes tire of the damage to their rooftops and adopt a more hardline approach. However, I do not see the point in scaring the birds off, perhaps to another of Columbia’s villages. If I were the owners, I would work towards containment. Besides tightening security around the trash area, this means eliminating the cat food supply.
There are at most a dozen cats, while there are 200 vultures and many more humans. It is unfair to allow one’s sympathies for a few to damage the community at large.
By the way, my mother would not agree with this.
It’s only fair to provide a link to the earlier post on this fascinating topic.
I agree…..that is with your assessment of me.
They have now tightened security at the trash area with some sort of netting. Don’t know if it will work or not.