Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Springtime Kettle


Stepping outside my front door the other morning, I looked up to a sky filled with circling buzzards. As I’ve no doubt mentioned before it’s called a kettle as the sight is compared to bubbles rising in a pot of boiling liquid.


Ugly as most folks consider these avian ‘janitors’, I find their whirling displays beautiful. These birds roost in large groups overnight and, taking flight en masse, disperse to the four winds.

We never tire of seeing them and welcome their return each spring. At the same time, we’re glad they don’t roost near our home, as their waste piles can result in a formidable messy stink.

Do you know the differences between red headed and black vultures? Have you ever seen a large wake (aka a roosting flock)?

-

16 comments:

  1. Don't think I have ever seen a vulture. Are they more prevalent in warmer climates? I think of them, over a more desert setting, but.... I don't know!

    Love the names of flocks of birds. Especially a Murder of Crows. -grin-

    Never heard of this one!

    Stay safe and calm...
    🌱🌱🌱

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Never? Interesting. Actually all of Ohio is popular in summer. Hinkley (near Cleveland) hosts a springtime "Buzzard Day" and the local rock station has one as mascot. Yet our southwest region sees larger flocks and they don't all leave in winter any longer.

      Delete
  2. They are hard workers in my book. I let them do their thing. I know there are the two different colors, but don't know the difference.

    Have a fabulous day. ♥

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Perhaps I'll share more details if folks are interested. ~grin~ Be well!

      Delete
  3. I don't know if I've ever seen a vulture in person. We have lots of seagulls and crows. Ducks. Geese. Mud hens. Doves. But vultures not so much.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ooh, mud hens are so cool. I'd like to see an American coot in real life.

      Delete
  4. I am not familiar with either one. We have turkey vultures around here and I enjoy seeing them as they remind me of Halloween when they are sitting on fence posts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Interestingly, turkey vulture is another name for the red-headed. :) Be well!

      Delete
  5. We live just south of Hinckley ,Ohio, where the return of the buzzards is celebrated every March 15 with a pancake dinner. Well, probably not this year. Anyway, the buzzards fly south as they say - but only two townships south. They are seen all year circling over Sharon Township' perching in trees and on the roofs of abandoned barns. We don't know the difference between them , and did not know about the "kettle" - that was an interesting fact !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for sharing these facts! I didn't know there was a pancake dinner. In my youth I went to Hinckley on that date but saw nary a vulture. My, how that has changed. :)

      Delete
  6. I didn't remember the groups are called kettles or the roosts "wakes". I follow them here, if I see a group when I'm out, in tightening circles, looking for what they are smelling. I don't know why I do that. I certainly am not into eating roadkill, not yet anyhow, although its legal now here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've enjoyed watching them circle since childhood. :) So stay young at heart with me, my dear!

      Delete
  7. We have red headed ones, I call them turkey vultures. I just always heard them called that. I see them all the time, usually on the road eating dinner of a deer or something that made a dash across the road but did not make it. OUCH! Yep, I rather have my food cooked!

    ReplyDelete
  8. We have a lot of buzzards where I live but not in those numbers. They seem quite solitary. Maybe our British buzzards are a slightly different genus. I would be extremely worried if a vulture turned up as we don't have them here, well, apart from in zoos etc!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I believe they are separate species with different habits. ~nods~ Be well!

      Delete

Hope you enjoyed stopping by and please drop a line. I love comments.

Any and all will be published upon approval. Thanks!