🧐Central Pa. community declares war on vultures: ‘It is a health and safety issue’

[GOYABEAN]

CARLISLE — Less than a year ago, Carlisle proudly accepted recognition as a “Bird Town Pennsylvania” community, one of 64 across the state.

It means borough officials have committed to doing what they can to keep the community habitable and hospitable, even, to our feathered friends.

But, now we learn, not all birds are created equal.

In the region’s latest round of Man vs. Nature, Carlisle has just declared parts of town off-limits to vultures.

After several years of fascination-turned-concern about a growing flock of turkey vultures, the borough council last week entered into a year-long agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services Division for various “harassment” measures designed to drive the vultures out of town.

“What they leave behind I think is what caught everybody’s attention,” said West Willow Street resident Liz Dete, noting the droppings — which literally do a different kind of whitewash on tree limbs and sidewalks under the roost trees — can get tracked by school children headed to and from nearby Mooreland Elementary School, pets and anybody out for a walk.

At least one property owner has reported property damage, too.

The Birds
Growing flocks of vultures have been a noticeable feature of this valley town’s skyline for several years now, drawn by the native pines and other trees still marking the tallest peaks in parts of the town’s south end, including Thornwald Park.

Then there’s the large municipal water tower that gives the birds commanding sightlines for everything from commercial dumpsters behind restaurants to road kill on local streets and highways.

All these points make great places for flocks of turkey and black vultures to roost at night or loaf on in between feedings.

But it’s proven not so great for some of the homo sapiens who own land rights to the homes, backyards and gardens below.

Tony Roland, USDA’s supervisory wildlife biologist for central Pennsylvania, said Monday there are probably “a couple hundred” birds roosting in the borough.

“I know I saw more than 100 when I was there,” Roland said of his recent field survey, “and I expect we will see more vultures coming up as the weather warms up.”

The problem is while the population is roosting on just a handful of trees, many of them are on private or public properties in a residential neighborhood.

And if you’ve never “hosted” a couple dozen vultures?

It can be a lot.

Residents of some of the host properties describe months of battling a gross form of white-outs as vulture droppings literally overtake their lawns and patios.

That’s a problem for people with pets, which can run through and possibly ingest the stuff.

There are also human health and safety concerns with walking through droppings or accidentally touching droppings on patio furniture or playground equipment, as birds can carry zoonotic — meaning transmissible to humans — diseases.

Some have taken to having “yard shoes,” strictly for moving about outside; and “everywhere else shoes” for once they get through the mess.

Repeated roosting brings tree branches down.

And in at least one case, the birds — who are known to tear off roof shingles and other types of rubber — are blamed for tearing leaks into a two-year-old rubber membrane at the 24-unit Mooreland Apartments building.

“We had leaks into our apartments two weeks ago,” said Jeff Adams, the property manager. “They [the vultures] are not friendly.”

A small group of homeowners hired a pest control company to provide some short-term relief this winter, and then about 15 households petitioned the borough for a longer-term approach.

“We had too many people in the neighborhood complaining, so we got together and decided to do something about it,” resident George Dete said.

“It is a health and safety issue.”

Help is on the way
After a quick research project led by Borough Parks and Recreation Director Andrea Crouse, council 7-0 Thursday to enter the $24,965 contract with staff biologists from the USDA who will execute a plan to, essentially, kick the vultures out.

There are two “shall” clauses in the agreement approved by the borough council Thursday night.

First, affected residents will get technical assistance with ideas designed to give their properties less, shall we say, curb appeal for the birds.

Roland says that means making sure no one’s leaving cat food on their porch, throwing food scraps out for squirrels, or leaving bags of trash in open containers.

Then there’s the actual harassment of the birds themselves.

That could include hanging effigies of mock vultures upside-down in prominent areas, a method that Roland says has worked effectively in other areas.

And then, in a ploy that everyone in Carlisle’s south side could notice at some point, the Wildlife Services team will also use “a variety of techniques including ... lasers, spotlights, paintballs, pyrotechnics and gas cannons.”

Finally, there could be blood.

Roland said USDA will apply for a permit to hunt and kill a certain number of the flock — up to 20 percent is permissible under current regulations.

“We might end up shooting some with an air rifle to enforce the harassment techniques,” Roland said.

One kill of a known bird, hung in sight of the rest of the roost, can be very effective in telling the rest that a particular area is dangerous or unwelcoming, experts say.

Any work done on private property must be done with the owner’s written approval.

The specific mix of all these things will depend, Roland said, on how each measure works.

“The goal is to relocate the roost to a location where it’s not causing damage or creating a nuisance for people,” he said.

A word for the birds
South Central Pennsylvania is at the northern edge of the traditional population range for turkey vultures and black vultures.

Some theorize that as climate change has led to milder winters in the mid-Atlantic states, it’s causing more of the birds to call Pennsylvania home year-round.

But in places like the midstate, rapid land development has also helped, some zoologists argue.

“Because they are really large birds, they can’t get off the ground as easily as smaller birds. They rely on the earth’s surface heating up to produce a thermal current. They can use those currents flowing around them to lift them up,” Jacob Hill, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Lab told PennLive in a 2021 interview.

“Landscape changes like paved roads with asphalt and concrete produce these thermal currents.”

Although the roads pose a risk, Hill said, the benefits of getting a roadside meal outweigh the risks, and the birds seem to know when to take that risk.

Roland doesn’t consider vultures to be pests.

They do good things, the USDA notes in its literature, like eating dead deer and other carrion that can promote disease.

It’s just that in our 21st-century pecking order, humans rule the roost and they say there are better places for the vultures to congregate than in residential areas.

From Wildlife Services information sheets created for a similar management project in Hershey: “The birds' feces and vomit can accumulate rapidly. Vulture feces is not just highly odorous, it is very acidic and corrosive,” with the potential to damage cars, homes, shrubs and flower beds.

“Their feces, their vomit; you don’t want that in your backyard,” Crouse said.

Roland said the Carlisle work will start as soon as possible, and certainly this spring.

As for that “Bird Town” designation?

Heidi Shiver, who manages the Bird Town Pennsylvania program, noted Carlisle reached out for suggestions, so credit for not being a fair-weather friend.

Her main hope is the borough will move with care.

“We greatly support vultures as they are a keystone species and scavenge carcasses which reduce diseases such as rabies, distemper and even plague,” Shiver told PennLive in an email.

“We certainly understand though when a conflict arises and it needs to be addressed. We hope it can be resolved soon, agreeably for all.”

The Mooreland neighbors second that.

The Detes, for one, have a great alternative location, close to all the same dumpsters, highways and other food sources — the borough’s mostly-passive and forested Thornwald Park, about a half-mile south as the crow flies.

Maybe the USDA will show them the way.

“It sucks to have to go to extremes,” Adams said Tuesday, “but they are doing a lot of damage.”

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2025/0...ety-issue.html

[Emptymag]

Gonna have to read that later. We have a growing population of turkey vultures here. I see them further away from where I used to in the past.

[Ronin]

The article doesn't cover any sort of event. No mention of a turkey vulture BBQ. Why is this here?

[GOYABEAN]

Gonna have to read that later. We have a growing population of turkey vultures here. I see them further away from where I used to in the past.

Yeah some areas get invaded more than others nature's garbage disposal crew 🤔

[father-of-five]

The first thing I thought of with this is how frustrating Canada geese are and there's nothing much that can be done. At least 1 year, several years ago, the 190 acre lake at Towamensing Trails was shut down due to high bacteria levels from goose poop.

Assuming that turkey buzzards are not "protected," it will be interesting to see how quickly they get down the list to the "extreme" options.

[chp1911]

turkey Vultures are protected by federal laws under the Migratory Bird Act of 1918, as well as by Massachusetts state laws. They are also protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It is illegal to destroy, relocate, or possess birds, their nests, or their eggs.

[Here4now]

In the winter, we have a shit load of vultures roosting in the pine trees in our community. I don’t know where they go over the summer. Some of the neighbors have their roofs, cars, and decks covered with the white vulture shit. Occasionally they will try to roost in my pine trees and I take an iron pipe and whack the tree trunk and it will scare them away.

From what I understand, vultures are very prone to catching the bird flu. I’ve found 3 dead vultures this winter. I wasn’t sad.

[RockIsland]

turkey Vultures are protected by federal laws under the Migratory Bird Act of 1918, as well as by Massachusetts state laws. They are also protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It is illegal to destroy, relocate, or possess birds, their nests, or their eggs.

How about the black ones?

[esh21167]

How about the black ones?

BVLM...

[KCJones]

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