{"id":14550,"date":"2020-08-17T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-17T10:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/?p=14550"},"modified":"2020-08-17T09:31:56","modified_gmt":"2020-08-17T13:31:56","slug":"take-5-the-strength-to-carrion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-the-strength-to-carrion\/","title":{"rendered":"Take 5: The Strength to Carrion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>This week, we&#8217;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&#8217;s cleanup crew. A wake of Turkey Vultures (yes, even their collective name is a little morbid) can clean a carcass down to the bone in a matter of a few days!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There&#8217;s still a lot we don&#8217;t know about Turkey Vultures, but we do know they have adaptations that together allow them to take advantage of a food resource that would sicken or kill most other animals: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Their keen sense of smell (the strongest of any bird, in fact) helps them find food. <\/li><li>Their heads are naked so that they can dive right into a carcass without yucking up their feathers.<\/li><li>In order to digest rotting tissue and protect themselves from pathogens like salmonella, botulism, and anthrax, they have specialized gut biomes that contain a potent cocktail of gastric enzymes, acids, and bacteria.<\/li><li>Their primary defense mechanism is to vomit putrid meat onto would-be attackers.<\/li><li>Unrelated to their diet, but still interesting: To keep cool in hot weather, they will defecate on their feet and legs.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>And with an average wingspan just under 6 feet, Turkey Vultures are truly awesome birds. On a clear day, look for kettles of Turkey Vultures soaring on rising thermals with barely a flap of their wings, smelling for the faintest whiff of their next meal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From April to November, you can observe one or more Turkey Vultures at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.massaudubon.org\/get-outdoors\/wildlife-sanctuaries\/drumlin-farm\">Drumlin Farm&#8217;s<\/a> Bird Hill exhibit, where injured or human-habituated animals that cannot survive in the wild are tended to by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.massaudubon.org\/get-outdoors\/wildlife-sanctuaries\/drumlin-farm\/about\/wildlife-care\">Wildlife Care<\/a> team\u2014in captivity, Turkey Vultures often have inquisitive personalities and seem to enjoy interacting with different enriching stimuli provided by the caretakers. At the annual Halloween events at Drumlin Farm, one vulture has the important job of sitting on a whale bone &#8220;acting scary&#8221; and munching on a rat. Here are five photos of magnificent Turkey Vultures from our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.massaudubon.org\/news-events\/photo-contest\">Picture This: Your Great Outdoors<\/a>\u00a0photo contest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/4467Beth_Finney30243.jpg\" alt=\"Turkey Vulture \u00a9 Beth Finney\" class=\"wp-image-14553\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/4467Beth_Finney30243.jpg 750w, https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/4467Beth_Finney30243-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/4467Beth_Finney30243-624x416.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><figcaption>Turkey Vulture \u00a9 Beth Finney<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/6020GeorgeAnn_Millet30639.jpg\" alt=\"Turkey Vulture \u00a9 George Ann Millet\" class=\"wp-image-14555\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/6020GeorgeAnn_Millet30639.jpg 750w, https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/6020GeorgeAnn_Millet30639-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/6020GeorgeAnn_Millet30639-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/6020GeorgeAnn_Millet30639-144x144.jpg 144w, https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/6020GeorgeAnn_Millet30639-624x624.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><figcaption>Turkey Vulture \u00a9 George Ann Millet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/3017nigel_cunningham10899.jpg\" alt=\"Turkey Vulture \u00a9 Nigel Cunningham\" class=\"wp-image-14557\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/3017nigel_cunningham10899.jpg 750w, https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/3017nigel_cunningham10899-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/3017nigel_cunningham10899-624x416.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><figcaption>Turkey Vulture \u00a9 Nigel Cunningham<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"672\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/1117Dennis_Durette30449.jpg\" alt=\"Turkey Vulture \u00a9 Dennis Durette\" class=\"wp-image-14551\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/1117Dennis_Durette30449.jpg 750w, https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/1117Dennis_Durette30449-300x269.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/1117Dennis_Durette30449-624x559.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><figcaption>Turkey Vulture \u00a9 Dennis Durette<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/4525Brad_Dinerman20111.jpg\" alt=\"Turkey Vulture \u00a9 Brad Dinerman\" class=\"wp-image-14554\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/4525Brad_Dinerman20111.jpg 750w, https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/4525Brad_Dinerman20111-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/4525Brad_Dinerman20111-624x416.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><figcaption>Turkey Vulture \u00a9 Brad Dinerman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This week, we&#8217;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&#8217;s cleanup crew. A wake of Turkey Vultures (yes, even their collective name [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":14553,"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":[28,83,84,190],"class_list":["post-14550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-take-5","tag-birds","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\/2020\/08\/4467Beth_Finney30243.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t87A-3MG","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10008,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-turkey-vultures\/","url_meta":{"origin":14550,"position":0},"title":"Take 5: Turkey Vultures","author":"Ryan D.","date":"October 23, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Take 5&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Take 5","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/take-5\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Turkey Vulture \u00a9 Phyllis Tarascio","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/10\/1007PhyllisTarascio3497_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\/1007PhyllisTarascio3497_fi.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/10\/1007PhyllisTarascio3497_fi.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3589,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/blog-roundup\/","url_meta":{"origin":14550,"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":14039,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/birds-to-look-for-during-bird-at-home-a-thon\/","url_meta":{"origin":14550,"position":2},"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 &quot;Get Involved&quot;","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":10120,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-giving-thanks-for-turkeys\/","url_meta":{"origin":14550,"position":3},"title":"Take 5: Giving Thanks for Turkeys","author":"Ryan D.","date":"November 20, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The return of wild turkeys to New England is a marvelous success story. When European settlers first arrived, these native birds were plentiful but rising populations and over-hunting led to their erradication\u2014the last wild turkey in Massachusetts was killed on Mount Tom in 1851. Thanks to the efforts of\u00a0the Division\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Take 5&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Take 5","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/take-5\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Wild tom (male) turkey \u00a9 Kathy King","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/11\/3510Kathy_King13086_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\/11\/3510Kathy_King13086_fi.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/11\/3510Kathy_King13086_fi.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12421,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/destination-spotlight-armenia\/","url_meta":{"origin":14550,"position":4},"title":"Destination Spotlight: Armenia","author":"Hillary T.","date":"March 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Located in the mountainous Caucasus region bordering Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Iran, Armenia has everything you may want in an exotic trip: history, culture, food, and birds. And this September, you can join Mass Audubon naturalist Amber Carr on a 15-day adventure. Here, a snapshot of what you could experience:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Travel&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Travel","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/travel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/03\/Armenia_Geghard_Monastery-750.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/03\/Armenia_Geghard_Monastery-750.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/03\/Armenia_Geghard_Monastery-750.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/03\/Armenia_Geghard_Monastery-750.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1586,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/a-flock-by-any-other-name\/","url_meta":{"origin":14550,"position":5},"title":"A Flock By Any Other Name","author":"Mass Audubon","date":"January 31, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"A murder of crows. An exaltation of larks. A business of ferrets. Many of us are familiar with these strange and often fanciful group names for animals, but why do they exist? Birds, particularly, seem an odd case, since English has a perfectly serviceable word (\u201cflock\u201d) that can be used\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Nature Notes&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/nature-notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2013\/01\/StarlingsPatDalton.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2013\/01\/StarlingsPatDalton.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2013\/01\/StarlingsPatDalton.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14550"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14563,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14550\/revisions\/14563"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}