Earth in the Balance

[Lammie]

With an increase in deer population seems we are also having an increase in the buzzard population. Buzzards, I assume, have no natural predators and their population seems to go unchecked. Seems a problem has arisen lately with our calving season coming in at the end of deer season. Apparantly with the lack of unfound deer kills to feed on the buzzards have found that young calves are easy meals or at least worth trying for. Though our brangus guard cows keep most predators at bay they could possibly fall short on the job - not yet but possibly. Hence comes my dilema. My neighbor has more docile animals and is lacking any brimmer influence. He recently had a calf have its eyes pecked out by those winged black devils and this draws my concern. To be fair and to keep a balance of justice on earth I was wondering if seven buzzards for each eye sounded fair to you. Does to me. :nod: Theoretically speaking of course.

I don't think it is legal to kill them around here. I won't tell, though.

 

[Jogeephus]

With an increase in deer population seems we are also having an increase in the buzzard population. Buzzards, I assume, have no natural predators and their population seems to go unchecked. Seems a problem has arisen lately with our calving season coming in at the end of deer season. Apparantly with the lack of unfound deer kills to feed on the buzzards have found that young calves are easy meals or at least worth trying for. Though our brangus guard cows keep most predators at bay they could possibly fall short on the job - not yet but possibly. Hence comes my dilema. My neighbor has more docile animals and is lacking any brimmer influence. He recently had a calf have its eyes pecked out by those winged black devils and this draws my concern. To be fair and to keep a balance of justice on earth I was wondering if seven buzzards for each eye sounded fair to you. Does to me. :nod: Theoretically speaking of course.

I don't think it is legal to kill them around here. I won't tell, though.

I think the fine is $500 per bird - or so I was told. Gonna ask the warden next time I see him. He's a good fella and has some common sense and might give me a permit if one can be had.

 

[Caustic Burno]

You will never dent them trying to shoot them Joge.

 

[Jogeephus]

You will never dent them trying to shoot them Joge.

How do you build a buzzard trap? I'm interested. Seems the population is increasing every day. It must be cause there are so few dead deer in the woods and I don't see many dead animals on the highway either. So far I don't have any problems. My brangus moms are - to say the least - extremely protective of all the calves.

 

[Caustic Burno]

You will never dent them trying to shoot them Joge.

How do you build a buzzard trap? I'm interested. Seems the population is increasing every day. It must be cause there are so few dead deer in the woods and I don't see many dead animals on the highway either. So far I don't have any problems. My brangus moms are - to say the least - extremely protective of all the calves.

Just a big hog trap with no bottom. Cut you a trench a couple feet deep sloping down so the birds can walk in to get to the bait. Approach the trap from the trench side. Take care of business fill trench back up.
Trench needs to be front end loader width.

 

[Jogeephus]

You will never dent them trying to shoot them Joge.

How do you build a buzzard trap? I'm interested. Seems the population is increasing every day. It must be cause there are so few dead deer in the woods and I don't see many dead animals on the highway either. So far I don't have any problems. My brangus moms are - to say the least - extremely protective of all the calves.

Just a big hog trap with no bottom. Cut you a trench a couple feet deep sloping down so the birds can walk in to get to the bait. Approach the trap from the trench side. Take care of business fill trench back up.
Trench needs to be front end loader width.

Gotcha. Kinda like a big quail trap. :nod:

 

[dieselbeef]

we got the same problem here in fl. rock-n-w has a post goin bout buzzard boy and what happened to one of his calfs from a vulture attack. it aint good. ive had em surround a new calf too. by the time i got the shotgun off the quad and got to em they were flyin off. had to stay there til i could get the momma calf to get the calf cleaned up and regroup. once the rest of the herd came round they helped keep the bird off but they were keepin the momma in every direction so the birds behind her could attack the calf. was like watchin yotes or wolves surround a kill. our birds are here year round. i had heard they were baitin roadkill at one time to try to drive down the population but the by kills became to great. one eagle was all it took

 

[Calman]

Been seing an average of about one a day dissapearing around here.

Cal

 

[Jogeephus]

Been seing an average of about one a day dissapearing around here.

Cal

Probably due to popsidosis. You can normally diagnosis this by listening for a popping noise if they are over 100 yards away. I'm pretty sure this is correct since I think I read about it in a leatherbound book that didn't have many pictures in it. Or maybe I didn't. :lol2:

 

[ohiosteve]

I have at least a dozen of the red headed turkey vultures that call my place home. They perch up on the high powered electric towers that run through my property, I've never seen them do any harm and they do a real good job of cleaning up road kill. I was walking through the woods this afternoon looking for mushrooms and kicked up one out of an old rottted tree stump. I got to looking and found a couple eggs it was tending to. Thought it was kind of cool. Here's a couple of pictures. I didn't disturb them but was wondering what the law was and if anybody has ever tried a buzzard egg omelet?

 

[Jogeephus]

Neat. That's a rare find. Did it stink? I once found a nest in a cliff with about four snow white chicks in it. I thought one would make a cool pet so I climbed the cliff to the little cave but when I got there the smell was horrid. I almost fell 20 feet because I was gagging so bad. I knew buzzards stunk but I assure you they don't stink as bad as there nests.

 

[ohiosteve]

I didn't notice any smell. I thought it was strange though there was no nesting materials at all in the stump. I didn't get any closer than about 5 or 6 ft. I will check on them from time to time. I wonder when they usually hatch. My daughter pays more attention to birds than I do but last week she said she saw what looked like a turkey buzzard but with a smaller head that looked like a crow, after searching for vulture topics last night and reading this thread it got me wondering if a mexican vulture could be this far north. I sure hope not.

 

[M5farm]

there is a certain Popular farm chemical that was outlawed that I heard would kill these birds and anything else that ate the poison. again this was told to me by a friends uncles brothers father inlaws ex wife