{"id":10008,"date":"2017-10-23T07:00:13","date_gmt":"2017-10-23T11:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/?p=10008"},"modified":"2017-10-23T09:30:30","modified_gmt":"2017-10-23T13:30:30","slug":"take-5-turkey-vultures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-turkey-vultures\/","title":{"rendered":"Take 5: Turkey Vultures"},"content":{"rendered":"

While folklore holds that spotting a circling vulture is a bad omen, turkey vultures actually perform a vital function within their ecosystem: Clean-up Crew!<\/p>\n

Turkey vultures<\/a> specialize in eating carrion (dead animals). They have a well-developed sense of smell that they use to find food. Their heads are naked so that they can reach inside a carcass without contaminating their feathers. They usually feed alone, but if a vulture sees others of its kind feeding on a carcass, it may fly down to join them.<\/p>\n

Like crows<\/a>, turkey vultures roost together, often gathering in trees by the dozen to sleep for the night, which can be a little eerie if you don’t know that these beneficial birds are harmless to humans. Here are five photos of turkey vultures from our Picture This: Your Great Outdoors<\/a> photo contest.<\/p>\n

All October long, leading up to Halloween, we\u2019re spotlighting wildlife that\u2019s \u201cspooky,\u201d \u201ccreepy,\u201d and goes \u201cbump\u201d in the night with our Take 5<\/a> posts. Keep an eye out for next week when we tackle the creepiest crawly of them all: spiders!<\/p>\n

\"Turkey

Turkey Vulture \u00a9 Phyllis Tarascio<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Soaring

Soaring Turkey Vulture \u00a9 Sherrelle Guyette<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Turkey

Turkey Vulture \u00a9 Christine Young<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Turkey

Turkey Vulture \u00a9 Patrick Waggett<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Turkey

Turkey Vulture \u00a9 Paul Bedard<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While folklore holds that spotting a circling vulture is a bad omen, turkey vultures actually perform a vital function within their ecosystem: Clean-up Crew! Turkey vultures specialize in eating carrion (dead animals). They have a well-developed sense of smell that they use to find food. Their heads are naked so that they can reach inside […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":10015,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[158],"tags":[189,83,84,190],"class_list":["post-10008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-take-5","tag-halloween","tag-photo-contest","tag-photography","tag-turkey-vultures"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/10\/1007PhyllisTarascio3497_fi.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t87A-2Bq","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14550,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-the-strength-to-carrion\/","url_meta":{"origin":10008,"position":0},"title":"Take 5: The Strength to Carrion","author":"Ryan D.","date":"August 17, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This week, we're speaking up for an invaluable member of the avian class: the Turkey Vulture. Sure, their diet of carrion (dead animals) is pretty unappetizing to us, but they are amazing birds and serve a vital function as a member of nature's cleanup crew. A wake of Turkey Vultures\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Take 5"","block_context":{"text":"Take 5","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/take-5\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Turkey Vulture \u00a9 Beth Finney","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/4467Beth_Finney30243.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/4467Beth_Finney30243.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/4467Beth_Finney30243.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/4467Beth_Finney30243.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3589,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/blog-roundup\/","url_meta":{"origin":10008,"position":1},"title":"Blog Roundup","author":"Hillary T.","date":"May 27, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"In addition to the Your Great Outdoors blog, Mass Audubon has several other blogs that focus on specific subjects. Here are some of their most recent posts. Vision Through the Years When the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) movement was beginning in the early 80s, growers and consumers alike were motivated\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 2 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 2 comments","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/blog-roundup\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10024,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-spooky-spiders\/","url_meta":{"origin":10008,"position":2},"title":"Take 5: “Spooky” Spiders","author":"Ryan D.","date":"October 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"This October, we've been leading up to Halloween with themed Take 5 posts covering critters that are spooky, creepy, and go \"bump\" in the night. We've highlighted snakes, crows, bats, and vultures, and now it's time for the creepiest crawly of them all: spiders! Even if the thought of spiders\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Take 5"","block_context":{"text":"Take 5","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/take-5\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cross Orbweaver Spider \u00a9 Brett Melican","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/10\/3344Brett_Melican12225_fi.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/10\/3344Brett_Melican12225_fi.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/10\/3344Brett_Melican12225_fi.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14039,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/birds-to-look-for-during-bird-at-home-a-thon\/","url_meta":{"origin":10008,"position":3},"title":"Birds to Look For During Bird-at-home-a-thon","author":"Mass Audubon","date":"May 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"While this year\u2019s\u00a0Bird-a-thon\u00a0has shifted focus to birding closer to home and around your neighborhood, you can still find\u00a0tons of\u00a0exciting birds. Some birds are common in many habitats, like Northern Cardinals and American Robins,\u00a0but\u00a0here\u00a0is\u00a0a list of other feathered friends you are likely to see (or hear!) in habitats\u00a0across\u00a0Massachusetts along with some\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Get Involved"","block_context":{"text":"Get Involved","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/get-involved\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Burds you can see in an urban setting","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/05\/Urban_photos.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/05\/Urban_photos.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/05\/Urban_photos.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/05\/Urban_photos.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4383,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-terrific-turkeys\/","url_meta":{"origin":10008,"position":4},"title":"Take 5: Terrific Turkeys","author":"Rosemary","date":"November 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"With Thanksgiving approaching, it's time to give thanks for the wild turkey. Once completely wiped out of the state due to over-harvesting, this bird is now a regular fixture of forests and even suburban and urban areas. Our past Photo Contest participants have captured the many facets\u00a0of this fascinating species.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Take 5"","block_context":{"text":"Take 5","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/take-5\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2014\/11\/2230AndyTrushaw7781-2013.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2014\/11\/2230AndyTrushaw7781-2013.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2014\/11\/2230AndyTrushaw7781-2013.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13341,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-strut-your-stuff\/","url_meta":{"origin":10008,"position":5},"title":"Take 5: Strut Your Stuff","author":"Ryan D.","date":"November 25, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"As you may be dining on plenty of turkey this week, we thought we'd turn our attention away from the domesticated variety that graces many a Thanksgiving table, and instead \"show off\" that iconic show-off, the Wild Turkey. 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