Pam’s Perspective<\/p>\n
From the\u2026<\/p>\n
Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and<\/p>\n
Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District<\/p>\n
September<\/p>\n
14,<\/p>\n
2012<\/p>\n
Driving<\/p>\n
along<\/p>\n
Peck<\/p>\n
Road<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
other<\/p>\n
day,<\/p>\n
a<\/p>\n
merry<\/p>\n
band<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
naturalists<\/p>\n
spotted<\/p>\n
a<\/p>\n
TV<\/p>\n
dinner<\/p>\n
on<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
pavement.<\/p>\n
Even<\/p>\n
better,<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
TV<\/p>\n
was<\/p>\n
right<\/p>\n
next<\/p>\n
to<\/p>\n
it!<\/p>\n
Now,<\/p>\n
before<\/p>\n
visions<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
Swanson’s<\/p>\n
Salisbury<\/p>\n
Steak<\/p>\n
and<\/p>\n
a<\/p>\n
Sony<\/p>\n
flatscreen<\/p>\n
start<\/p>\n
dancing<\/p>\n
in<\/p>\n
your<\/p>\n
head,<\/p>\n
hold<\/p>\n
on.<\/p>\n
The<\/p>\n
dinner<\/p>\n
we<\/p>\n
discovered<\/p>\n
was<\/p>\n
a<\/p>\n
dead<\/p>\n
raccoon,<\/p>\n
and<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
TV<\/p>\n
was,<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
course,<\/p>\n
a<\/p>\n
Turkey<\/p>\n
Vulture.<\/p>\n
Turkey<\/p>\n
vultures<\/p>\n
occupy<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
ecological<\/p>\n
niche<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
scavenger;<\/p>\n
they<\/p>\n
are<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
cleanup<\/p>\n
crew<\/p>\n
in<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
circus<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
life.<\/p>\n
“If<\/p>\n
it’s<\/p>\n
dead,<\/p>\n
it’s<\/p>\n
dinner,”<\/p>\n
is<\/p>\n
their<\/p>\n
motto,<\/p>\n
and<\/p>\n
our<\/p>\n
natural<\/p>\n
world<\/p>\n
is<\/p>\n
a<\/p>\n
tidier<\/p>\n
place<\/p>\n
because<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
them.<\/p>\n
(Fun<\/p>\n
fact:<\/p>\n
The<\/p>\n
vulture’s<\/p>\n
scientific<\/p>\n
name<\/p>\n
is<\/p>\n
Cathartes<\/p>\n
aura,<\/p>\n
Latinized<\/p>\n
from<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
Greek<\/p>\n
word<\/p>\n
kathaetes,<\/p>\n
or<\/p>\n
purifier,<\/p>\n
and<\/p>\n
auroura,<\/p>\n
a<\/p>\n
Native<\/p>\n
Mexican<\/p>\n
word<\/p>\n
for<\/p>\n
turkey<\/p>\n
vulture.)<\/p>\n
The<\/p>\n
TV<\/p>\n
on<\/p>\n
Peck<\/p>\n
Road<\/p>\n
was<\/p>\n
acting<\/p>\n
just<\/p>\n
as<\/p>\n
you’d<\/p>\n
expect<\/p>\n
such<\/p>\n
a<\/p>\n
bird<\/p>\n
to<\/p>\n
act\u2014if<\/p>\n
you<\/p>\n
do<\/p>\n
indeed<\/p>\n
hold<\/p>\n
such<\/p>\n
expectations.<\/p>\n
It<\/p>\n
was<\/p>\n
tugging<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
unfortunate<\/p>\n
mammal<\/p>\n
farther<\/p>\n
onto<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
shoulder<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
road,<\/p>\n
all<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
better<\/p>\n
to<\/p>\n
feed<\/p>\n
without<\/p>\n
becoming<\/p>\n
roadkill<\/p>\n
itself.<\/p>\n
Later,<\/p>\n
as<\/p>\n
we<\/p>\n
drove<\/p>\n
back<\/p>\n
in<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
opposite<\/p>\n
direction,<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
bird<\/p>\n
was<\/p>\n
tearing<\/p>\n
away<\/p>\n
at<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
carcass,<\/p>\n
seemingly<\/p>\n
relishing<\/p>\n
each<\/p>\n
meaty<\/p>\n
bite.<\/p>\n
(More<\/p>\n
fun!<\/p>\n
The<\/p>\n
name<\/p>\n
vulture<\/p>\n
comes<\/p>\n
from<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
Latin<\/p>\n
word<\/p>\n
vulturus,<\/p>\n
meaning<\/p>\n
“tearer.”)<\/p>\n
While<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
turkey<\/p>\n
vulture’s<\/p>\n
large,<\/p>\n
curved<\/p>\n
beak<\/p>\n
works<\/p>\n
well<\/p>\n
on<\/p>\n
smaller<\/p>\n
animals,<\/p>\n
it<\/p>\n
lacks<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
strength<\/p>\n
to<\/p>\n
tackle<\/p>\n
thicker<\/p>\n
hides<\/p>\n
like<\/p>\n
deer.<\/p>\n
In<\/p>\n
such<\/p>\n
cases,<\/p>\n
TVs<\/p>\n
will<\/p>\n
wait<\/p>\n
for<\/p>\n
other<\/p>\n
animals,<\/p>\n
such<\/p>\n
as<\/p>\n
coyotes,<\/p>\n
to<\/p>\n
“pop<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
cork,”<\/p>\n
so<\/p>\n
to<\/p>\n
speak,<\/p>\n
before<\/p>\n
feasting<\/p>\n
on<\/p>\n
what<\/p>\n
remains.<\/p>\n
What<\/p>\n
turkey<\/p>\n
vultures<\/p>\n
do<\/p>\n
excel<\/p>\n
at<\/p>\n
is<\/p>\n
finding<\/p>\n
fresh<\/p>\n
carrion.<\/p>\n
Through<\/p>\n
a<\/p>\n
combination<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
scent\u2014TVs<\/p>\n
are<\/p>\n
one<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
a<\/p>\n
small<\/p>\n
number<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
birds<\/p>\n
that<\/p>\n
possess<\/p>\n
a<\/p>\n
keen<\/p>\n
sense<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
smell\u2014and<\/p>\n
sight,<\/p>\n
these<\/p>\n
birds<\/p>\n
will<\/p>\n
hone<\/p>\n
in<\/p>\n
on<\/p>\n
recently<\/p>\n
dispatched<\/p>\n
animals<\/p>\n
and<\/p>\n
descend<\/p>\n
to<\/p>\n
eat<\/p>\n
their<\/p>\n
fill.<\/p>\n
While<\/p>\n
feeding,<\/p>\n
another<\/p>\n
TV<\/p>\n
adaptation<\/p>\n
comes<\/p>\n
into<\/p>\n
play.<\/p>\n
Carcasses,<\/p>\n
no<\/p>\n
matter<\/p>\n
how<\/p>\n
fresh,<\/p>\n
can<\/p>\n
turn<\/p>\n
messy<\/p>\n
quickly;<\/p>\n
hence,<\/p>\n
turkey<\/p>\n
vultures<\/p>\n
are<\/p>\n
conveniently<\/p>\n
equipped<\/p>\n
with<\/p>\n
virtually<\/p>\n
bare<\/p>\n
skin<\/p>\n
instead<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
feathers<\/p>\n
on<\/p>\n
their<\/p>\n
heads.<\/p>\n
A<\/p>\n
couple<\/p>\n
quick<\/p>\n
shakes,<\/p>\n
maybe<\/p>\n
a<\/p>\n
short<\/p>\n
bake<\/p>\n
in<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
sun<\/p>\n
and<\/p>\n
voila!<\/p>\n
The<\/p>\n
goo<\/p>\n
is<\/p>\n
gone.<\/p>\n
(Imagine<\/p>\n
spilling<\/p>\n
a<\/p>\n
caramel<\/p>\n
sundae<\/p>\n
on<\/p>\n
shag<\/p>\n
carpeting.<\/p>\n
Now<\/p>\n
picture<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
same<\/p>\n
stuff,<\/p>\n
only<\/p>\n
on<\/p>\n
vinyl<\/p>\n
flooring.<\/p>\n
Which<\/p>\n
would<\/p>\n
you<\/p>\n
rather<\/p>\n
clean<\/p>\n
up?)<\/p>\n
But<\/p>\n
even<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
best-equipped<\/p>\n
scavengers<\/p>\n
need<\/p>\n
a<\/p>\n
little<\/p>\n
diversity<\/p>\n
in<\/p>\n
life.<\/p>\n
Some<\/p>\n
research<\/p>\n
indicates<\/p>\n
that<\/p>\n
TVs<\/p>\n
do,<\/p>\n
from<\/p>\n
time<\/p>\n
to<\/p>\n
time,<\/p>\n
take<\/p>\n
advantage<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
plants<\/p>\n
as<\/p>\n
food<\/p>\n
sources.<\/p>\n
I<\/p>\n
can’t<\/p>\n
say<\/p>\n
for<\/p>\n
sure,<\/p>\n
but<\/p>\n
I<\/p>\n
may<\/p>\n
have<\/p>\n
witnessed<\/p>\n
just<\/p>\n
such<\/p>\n
an<\/p>\n
oddity<\/p>\n
about<\/p>\n
this<\/p>\n
time<\/p>\n
a<\/p>\n
few<\/p>\n
years<\/p>\n
ago,<\/p>\n
on<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
northeast<\/p>\n
corner<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
14th<\/p>\n
Street<\/p>\n
and<\/p>\n
Route<\/p>\n
38<\/p>\n
in<\/p>\n
St.<\/p>\n
Charles.<\/p>\n
On<\/p>\n
my<\/p>\n
way<\/p>\n
to<\/p>\n
a<\/p>\n
party,<\/p>\n
I<\/p>\n
was<\/p>\n
waylaid<\/p>\n
by<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
sight<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
seven<\/p>\n
turkey<\/p>\n
vultures<\/p>\n
near<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
farm<\/p>\n
field<\/p>\n
there.<\/p>\n
As<\/p>\n
three<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
big<\/p>\n
birds<\/p>\n
kept<\/p>\n
watch<\/p>\n
from<\/p>\n
a<\/p>\n
dead<\/p>\n
tree<\/p>\n
branch,<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
other<\/p>\n
four<\/p>\n
pulled<\/p>\n
at<\/p>\n
what<\/p>\n
looked<\/p>\n
like<\/p>\n
grass<\/p>\n
on<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
ground;<\/p>\n
grass<\/p>\n
stems<\/p>\n
were<\/p>\n
certainly<\/p>\n
flying<\/p>\n
as<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
birds<\/p>\n
yanked<\/p>\n
and<\/p>\n
swallowed.<\/p>\n
But<\/p>\n
was<\/p>\n
it<\/p>\n
really<\/p>\n
grass<\/p>\n
they<\/p>\n
were<\/p>\n
eating?<\/p>\n
I<\/p>\n
couldn’t<\/p>\n
see<\/p>\n
from<\/p>\n
where<\/p>\n
I<\/p>\n
stood<\/p>\n
(yeah,<\/p>\n
by<\/p>\n
this<\/p>\n
point<\/p>\n
I’d<\/p>\n
pulled<\/p>\n
over<\/p>\n
into<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
empty<\/p>\n
bank<\/p>\n
parking<\/p>\n
lot<\/p>\n
just<\/p>\n
west<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
14th<\/p>\n
and<\/p>\n
had<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
binoculars<\/p>\n
out).<\/p>\n
Maybe<\/p>\n
there<\/p>\n
were<\/p>\n
insects<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
some<\/p>\n
sort<\/p>\n
on<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
ground,<\/p>\n
or<\/p>\n
perhaps<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
birds<\/p>\n
were<\/p>\n
grazing<\/p>\n
on<\/p>\n
carrion<\/p>\n
bits<\/p>\n
sprayed<\/p>\n
from<\/p>\n
a<\/p>\n
lawnmower<\/p>\n
chute.<\/p>\n
I<\/p>\n
may<\/p>\n
never<\/p>\n
know.<\/p>\n
But<\/p>\n
one<\/p>\n
thing’s<\/p>\n
for<\/p>\n
sure.<\/p>\n
The<\/p>\n
incident<\/p>\n
offered<\/p>\n
plenty<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
food<\/p>\n
for<\/p>\n
thought<\/p>\n
at<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
party\u2014a<\/p>\n
gathering<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
naturalists\u2014that<\/p>\n
night.<\/p>\n
Want<\/p>\n
to<\/p>\n
see<\/p>\n
turkey<\/p>\n
vultures<\/p>\n
for<\/p>\n
yourself?<\/p>\n
Pick<\/p>\n
a<\/p>\n
warm<\/p>\n
sunny<\/p>\n
day<\/p>\n
anytime<\/p>\n
from<\/p>\n
now<\/p>\n
until<\/p>\n
October,<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
month<\/p>\n
TVs<\/p>\n
head<\/p>\n
south<\/p>\n
for<\/p>\n
winter.<\/p>\n
Head<\/p>\n
for<\/p>\n
a<\/p>\n
nearby<\/p>\n
natural<\/p>\n
area,<\/p>\n
and<\/p>\n
look<\/p>\n
up.<\/p>\n
Sooner<\/p>\n
more<\/p>\n
often<\/p>\n
than<\/p>\n
later,<\/p>\n
a<\/p>\n
dark<\/p>\n
form<\/p>\n
will<\/p>\n
pass<\/p>\n
high<\/p>\n
overhead,<\/p>\n
tilting<\/p>\n
just<\/p>\n
slightly<\/p>\n
side<\/p>\n
to<\/p>\n
side<\/p>\n
as<\/p>\n
it<\/p>\n
soars<\/p>\n
on<\/p>\n
warm<\/p>\n
air<\/p>\n
currents<\/p>\n
called<\/p>\n
thermals.<\/p>\n
The<\/p>\n
wingspan<\/p>\n
will<\/p>\n
be<\/p>\n
large\u2014nearly<\/p>\n
six<\/p>\n
feet\u2014but<\/p>\n
more<\/p>\n
important,<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
wings<\/p>\n
will<\/p>\n
be<\/p>\n
held<\/p>\n
in<\/p>\n
a<\/p>\n
characteristic<\/p>\n
V<\/p>\n
shape<\/p>\n
known<\/p>\n
as<\/p>\n
a<\/p>\n
dihedral.<\/p>\n
(The<\/p>\n
other<\/p>\n
large,<\/p>\n
dark<\/p>\n
soaring<\/p>\n
bird<\/p>\n
in<\/p>\n
our<\/p>\n
area,<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
bald<\/p>\n
eagle,<\/p>\n
holds<\/p>\n
its<\/p>\n
wings<\/p>\n
nearly<\/p>\n
straight.)<\/p>\n
If<\/p>\n
you’re<\/p>\n
really<\/p>\n
lucky,<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
form<\/p>\n
will<\/p>\n
descend<\/p>\n
and<\/p>\n
land<\/p>\n
by<\/p>\n
something<\/p>\n
dead\u2014a<\/p>\n
rabbit<\/p>\n
or<\/p>\n
opossum,<\/p>\n
perhaps.<\/p>\n
Tune<\/p>\n
in<\/p>\n
to<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
action<\/p>\n
at<\/p>\n
hand,<\/p>\n
and<\/p>\n
enjoy<\/p>\n
your<\/p>\n
very<\/p>\n
own<\/p>\n
TV<\/p>\n
show!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pam’s Perspective From the\u2026 Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District September 14, 2012 Driving along Peck Road the other day, a merry band of naturalists spotted a TV dinner on the pavement. Even better, the TV was right next to it! Now, before visions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101031,"featured_media":47279,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[105],"tags":[112,137,365],"class_list":["post-45384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-good-natured","tag-bird","tag-fly","tag-turkey-vulture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stcnature.org\/good-natured\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stcnature.org\/good-natured\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stcnature.org\/good-natured\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stcnature.org\/good-natured\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101031"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stcnature.org\/good-natured\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45384"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.stcnature.org\/good-natured\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47278,"href":"https:\/\/www.stcnature.org\/good-natured\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45384\/revisions\/47278"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stcnature.org\/good-natured\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stcnature.org\/good-natured\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stcnature.org\/good-natured\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stcnature.org\/good-natured\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}