Vultures?

This weekend I launched a few rockets on a cloudless day. Near the end, a couple of vultures started circling the field - a large soccer field, where, as far as I could tell, nothing had dropped dead during the launch.

I had the thought, I wonder if they're attracted by the sulfur smell of the burnt black powder?

Or perhaps it was the little dogs people were walking nearby...

Just curious - anybody ever witness this at a launch site?

Never witnessed it at a launch. We have tons of vultures where I live and it scares me when they circle above me when I'm doing yard work "I'm not dead yet !!!". I'll bet they are atractted to the smells, that's how they hunt.

Turkey vultures are scavengers, not predators. They can smell a dead carcass from miles away, but won't land near anything that's still moving. They are curious though, and I have seen them circle and watch stuff going on. Even Condors up at the Grand Canyon will do this, much to the dismay of the park rangers, who try to keep them away from human contact.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey_vulture

The field you are launching at probably is a good source for the kind of ground warming that generates the thermals that they use to soar. I highly doubt that they are very interested in the activities you and your rockets are up to, unless you're lying on the ground, motionless, for long stretches of time.

lcorinth said:

This weekend I launched a few rockets on a cloudless day. Near the end, a couple of vultures started circling the field - a large soccer field, where, as far as I could tell, nothing had dropped dead during the launch.

I had the thought, I wonder if they're attracted by the sulfur smell of the burnt black powder?

Or perhaps it was the little dogs people were walking nearby...

Just curious - anybody ever witness this at a launch site?

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You might want to have plenty of water on hand, and try to stay hydrated. Also take a shower before heading out.

K'Tesh said:

The field you are launching at probably is a good source for the kind of ground warming that generates the thermals that they use to soar. I highly doubt that they are very interested in the activities you and your rockets are up to, unless you're lying on the ground, motionless, for long stretches of time.

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I did have one rocket lying on the ground for a while, beyond the fence. But it was pretty small and bony. Not much good eating there...

ThirstyBarbarian said:

You might want to have plenty of water on hand, and try to stay hydrated. Also take a shower before heading out.

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I did get a blister. Perhaps they noticed my limp, and got their hopes up.

lcorinth said:

I did get a blister. Perhaps they noticed my limp, and got their hopes up.

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Vultures are pretty optimistic critters, and they're always looking on the bright side of things and finding that silver lining to every cloud. "Hey, that poor guy has a blister. Awww, that's too bad. Must hurt like the Dickens! But on the bright side, maybe he'll die, and we can strip the flesh from his bones!"

We had plenty of turkey vultures around the house. When ever I took my Jack Russell Terrior on a long track through the fields I launch at they swoop at her.
Our son, between 9 months and 4 years use to have an electric tracktor he rode around and on occasion they would swoop in.
I use to pick em off the top of my buddies barn with my 22 mag, about a 200 yd shot. They do feast upon their own kind.
Crows and black birds would as well.

...I've been dealing with a vulture ever since my mom died. The real estate agent that swooped in to feed on her carcass. SOB was involved in a break-in of my house without my permission and brought an Inspector from the City of Boise for a pre-sale drug lab inspection.... I am initiating a 4th Amendment lawsuit against my sister, the liar(lawyer), the real estate agent, their companies and the mayor and City of Boise.

There were 4 that came into my house when I wasn't there, my sister, the agent, the city inspector, and a woman that works for the lawyer. They claim in their evection suit that my brother who also lives here opened the door and let them in. He woke up to them walking into his bedroom...I wonder if they know the lair expects them to lie for her in court....

All based on the premise that my sister is the property owner. We all signed a RENUNCIATION AND NOMINATION paper to transfer our interest in the property over to my sister for the sale. Shenanigans behind the scenes but they don't seem to realize..... those papers were NEVER Notarized....

Here's the Wikipedia entry about Vultures. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulture

TopRamen said:

Here's the Wikipedia entry about Vultures. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulture

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...you sure? I didn't see a single photo of the real estate agent....

dave carver said:

...you sure? I didn't see a single photo of the real estate agent....

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Dammit! Now I have diet coke coming out of my nose! :rofl:

As to the OP's question, I have seen HUGE squadrons of turkey vultures at our Mill Springs launches on multiple occasions. The biggest group I saw had about 25 of them circling above one corner of the field. There are no moose in Georgia, obviously, so I figured the only thing big enough to feed that many vultures would be a sasquatch/skunk ape/bigfoot.

Where I come from, they are called "Targets"...

I think they are looking for thermals. When I used to fly R/C sailplanes off highstarts, I've experienced hawks coming over to my circling glider to share the thermal. It's quite an experience to be able to say I've actually "flown with eagles" which is
quite literally true. If I arrived at the field and the hawks were already circling, I'd wait for them to leave before launching so not to bother them. If I was already in a thermal and they came out of nowhere to circle with me, I could hardly do anything about it! None of them did anything aggressive towards the gliders but would simply circle 180 degrees across from them. They were in a better position to be able to judge the appropriate interval.:wink:
Kurt

dave carver said:

...you sure? I didn't see a single photo of the real estate agent....

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Dave,
Good to see you still have a sense of humor over this whole deal. I was wondering how things were going but didn't want to pry. I hope all goes in your favor and wish you the best.

Adrian

jd2cylman said:

Dave,
Good to see you still have a sense of humor over this whole deal. I was wondering how things were going but didn't want to pry. I hope all goes in your favor and wish you the best.

Adrian

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Yeah, so much has changed, I was going to update the previous posts but the page had dropped 24 back Then I saw the vulture thread and I couldn't resist

April 22 is the hearing. I want my lawyer to drag out the hearing and not go for immediate dismissal. I want to embarrass the living crap out of the lawyer. In her very first paragraph she misstates the time and place of the meeting we had. I want to have asked if she doesn't remember the time and place correctly then how can we trust the rest of what she "remembers".

dave carver said:

...you sure? I didn't see a single photo of the real estate agent....

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Dave,
Just keep in mind that judges have to be lawyers before they become judges......

My Wife use to be a lawyer. She gave it up because she didn't like the shenanigans or playing the "b******t" games.
The running joke is that they kicked her out for not meeting the minimum requirements- they found out that her parents were married.

evil ed said:

Dave,
Just keep in mind that judges have to be lawyers before they become judges......

My Wife use to be a lawyer. She gave it up because she didn't like the shenanigans or playing the "b******t" games.
The running joke is that they kicked her out for not meeting the minimum requirements- they found out that her parents were married.

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As Paul Harvey says, "And now for the rest of the story". The Airport Commission is the one's that have supposedly made the $280K offer. This number is well above residential but HALF what it is commercial, a zoning change made by the Airport itself. Where the hell did this number come from, no one will answer that question. Mayor David Beiter is commission head. The Judge that allowed those un-notarized Property Transfers is judge Christopher.....Beiter.

Draw your own conclusion.....

dave carver said:

As Paul Harvey says, "And now for the rest of the story". The Airport Commission is the one's that have supposedly made the $280K offer. This number is well above residential but HALF what it is commercial, a zoning change made by the Airport itself. Where the hell did this number come from, no one will answer that question. Mayor David Beiter is commission head. The Judge that allowed those un-notarized Property Transfers is judge Christopher.....Beiter.

Draw your own conclusion.....

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Read your post to my lovely wife. She was wondering if the mayor and judge have a mutual relation named "Master".....:eyeroll:

dave carver said:

Yeah, so much has changed, I was going to update the previous posts but the page had dropped 24 back Then I saw the vulture thread and I couldn't resist

April 22 is the hearing. I want my lawyer to drag out the hearing and not go for immediate dismissal. I want to embarrass the living crap out of the lawyer. In her very first paragraph she misstates the time and place of the meeting we had. I want to have asked if she doesn't remember the time and place correctly then how can we trust the rest of what she "remembers".

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Sounds like this has been a nasty experience, and I wish you the best. One thing I'd say about the hearing and any legal proceedings is that it is probably best to stay focused on the legal objective, winning a favorable decision, whatever that may be, not on putting someone you are pissed at in their place. Legal battles fought over spite and hard feelings are the kinds where the lawyers end up with EVERYTHING, and the parties involved get NOTHING, except maybe even worse hurt feelings. Good luck!

Many years ago I was attending a launch called The Bluegrass Blast, and we had a bit of a lull in between launches. a few buzzards soon started riding the thermals in the area, and started circling the HPR range. It was decided that they were not "aircraft", therefore it was OK to launch......
I never knew a buzzard could fly that fast!:bat::clap:

evil ed said:

Read your post to my lovely wife. She was wondering if the mayor and judge have a mutual relation named "Master".....:eyeroll:

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Hehehhe

ThirstyBarbarian said:

Sounds like this has been a nasty experience, and I wish you the best. One thing I'd say about the hearing and any legal proceedings is that it is probably best to stay focused on the legal objective, winning a favorable decision, whatever that may be, not on putting someone you are pissed at in their place. Legal battles fought over spite and hard feelings are the kinds where the lawyers end up with EVERYTHING, and the parties involved get NOTHING, except maybe even worse hurt feelings. Good luck!

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Getting the case dropped will be no problem. The REAL fun starts after the case is dismissed. It's off to the Ada County Prosecuting Attorney for Criminal Trespass, The Attorney General for the violations of State Code, and the US Attorney for 4th Amendment Violation.

The lawyer I think we're going with is a former State legislature who beat a Republican State Senator in a Republican state. My biggest fear isn't a Conflict of Interest problem with the Law firms always having to work with each other on complex land and probate, no, more than that I fear Fraternal Conflict, both the lawyers went to U of Idaho, as has the vast majority of lawyers in this state. The plus for him is he was Air Force as was my dad and grandpa, grandpa was there almost from the beginning of the Air Corps. So I believe that he's Air Force first, then a Democrat, then a lawyer....I hope.

One thing for sure I've learned, record it all

You never want to startle a flock of vultures when feeding. They will gorge themselves until they are too heavy for flight; so when you scare them and they attempt to take wing and finding they are unable to become airborne they just rid themselves of that extra weight by purging.

Should you happen to be under one or more of them when this occurs. . .

I’ve read once that Turkey Buzzards aren’t too particular about their meal actually being dead. If it’s down and can’t put up much of a fight they will happily eat it alive.

dave carver said:

The REAL fun starts after the case is dismissed. It's off to the Ada County Prosecuting Attorney for Criminal Trespass, The Attorney General for the violations of State Code, and the US Attorney for 4th Amendment Violation.

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This is going to be fun?

boomtube-mk2 said:

You never want to startle a flock of vultures when feeding. They will gorge themselves until they are too heavy for flight; so when you scare them and they attempt to take wing and finding they are unable to become airborne they just rid themselves of that extra weight by purging.

Should you happen to be under one or more of them when this occurs. . .

I’ve read once that Turkey Buzzards aren’t too particular about their meal actually being dead. If it’s down and can’t put up much of a fight they will happily eat it alive.

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Wow. That is a truly horrible thought. Vultures barfing up bits of dead carcass... Yar...

We have them here. You can look right through their nostrils and see daylight.

RocketT.Coyote said:

We have them here. You can look right through their nostrils and see daylight.

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...only someone with coyote eyes could see that... :eyepop: