When turkey vultures attack

Raincoast has been conducting whale and vessel monitoring from the Oaks Bluff lookout for a couple of months now. While the Pender Vessel Restricted Zone did not come into effect until June 1, we started monitoring in May to get an idea of whale movements and vessel transit patterns in the area before the zone is in place. While we’ve seen many large cetaceans, including Bigg’s (transient) killer whales, humpback whales, and a grey whale, harbour porpoises have been the dominant species, with over 60 porpoises spotted so far.

The only animals seen more consistently than harbour porpoises are birds. Dozens of songbirds can be spotted from Oaks Bluff, including violet-green swallows, dark-eyed juncos, and western flycatchers, a personal favourite of mine. You can often hear pileated, downy, and hairy woodpeckers pecking away in the forest behind our monitoring site, while predatory birds such as bald eagles, peregrine falcons, and ospreys soar along the cliffs.

None of these birds have ever caused a problem during monitoring. In fact, I like seeing them because they help break up the monotony of a no-whale day. But one particular bird decided to make me the target of an attack recently: the turkey vulture.

Turkey vultures are scavenger birds that nest in the cliffs along the Pender Bluff. They soar on thermal vents and can often be seen kettling, where groups of vultures circle together and rise higher into the sky in a column of warm air. While they can look a little spooky, these birds are actually an incredibly important part of the ecosystem because they feed on carrion, helping keep the environment clean. Without them, we’d probably be seeing a lot more roadkill. 

I’ve become a big fan of turkey vultures over the past two seasons on Oaks Bluff, as I see them almost every day. But one decided to test my patience right at the beginning of my shift.

I had only been on the cliff for an hour and had just set up my shade umbrella for the day. As I was standing at the theodolite tracking a vessel, I suddenly heard a series of loud splats hitting the umbrella. My first thought was, “Is it raining?” But that didn’t make any sense because there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. My second thought was that a bird had just pooped on the umbrella. Sure enough, when I looked up, a turkey vulture was circling overhead.

Turkey vultures can be up to 80 cm tall with a six-foot wingspan, and an animal of that size can create a lot of poop. When I looked back at my equipment, I could see that everything was covered in it. I was so thankful I had set up the umbrella, as that certainly took the brunt of it, but my jacket, backpack, chair, and theodolite were all hit too.

After standing frozen in disbelief for about 15 seconds, the smell hit me. As you can imagine, the poop of an animal that eats dead things does not smell very good! Armed with only a handful of Kleenex and half a bottle of water, I got to work attempting to clean it up. Getting myself clean was priority number one, followed by the theodolite and computer. Everything else would have to wait until the end of my shift, when I could go home for proper cleaning supplies. I ended up having to move the rest of my gear about twenty feet away, as the smell was horrendous! All the while, the turkey vulture continued circling overhead as if laughing at the chaos it had created.  

Over 30 visitors stopped by Oaks Bluff that day, many of whom noticed the smell immediately. After hearing the story, several people assured me that being pooped on by a bird was supposed to bring good luck. I had to remind myself of that later that evening while carrying all the smelly gear down the hill and scrubbing it clean when I got home. 

Still, I hold no grudge against turkey vultures. They were back again on my next shift at Oaks Bluff, and I’m sure I’ll see them many more times this summer. Let’s just hope target practice is over and I don’t become an incidental casualty again.