Be Careful of Falling Buzzards

   Mark took a jaunt over to Louisiana to get a couple of sacks of oysters to open for the Thanksgiving meal on the river towboat where he works.  Our brother-in-law rode with him so he could get a couple of sacks for his family.  It is good to have a "co-pilot" on trips...even short ones.  This took all of about three hours over then three back.  Just a nice ride with the promise of fresh oysters.  But, as with any venture, there can be setbacks and unexpected pitfalls along the way.  It was no different with this short trip.

  It seems that along the highway over to Louisiana, they saw a flock of vultures in the distance.  This is not unusual as the birds are nature's garbage disposals and any roadkill is fair game for them...albeit, a tricky game for them to get their prey.  Speeding vehicles can sometimes create more roadkill out of the predators eating the previous unfortunate animal that died.  You guessed it.  Mark hit a buzzard.  Well, more correct, a buzzard hit Mark's truck.  It seems that as they neared the flock, all flew up except one.  It flew up but then decided to fly back down before Mark had passed the roadkill.  Bam!  The buzzard hit the hood of his truck!  There is a huge dent right in the middle of the hood!

  If you have never seen a vulture/buzzard up close and personal, they are rather huge creatures.  We have what are called Turkey Vultures (locals call them buzzards).  They have about a seventy inch wingspan, are about the size of a large goose and weigh anywhere around five pounds and upwards.  Imagine a five pound bag of sugar smacking your truck hood while you are traveling about 70mph.  It is not a pretty sight.  Thankfully, the impact was contained on the truck's hood and the bird did not hit the windshield.  Mark and Larry came through the incident ok....sadly, the bird did not.  So...a new concern for travelers....Be wary of falling buzzards!

I Knew It!!

  Yesterday when I made my great escape from the "sick house", I had a feeling.  Something just did not feel quite right with the old body so I knew it was just a matter of time before the inevitable happened and I caught this nasty bug from Mark and Son.  Mark seems to have encountered someone somewhere that was ill and he carried the stuff back to the Little Bayou House. Son caught it soon after since they were working side by side on house repairs.  So, I took care of the two of them.  Now, who is going to care for me?  Me, I guess.  I knew it was going to happen and, sure enough, I woke up this morning with the telltale signs of headache, scratchy throat, nausea, muscle aches and chills.  This stuff is not happy.  It racks the body until it seems that it is about to go to pieces.  

  But...back to that great escape and the omen that I should have heeded or, at least, paid attention and done something...anything...to ward off this illness.  The omen?  A trio of turkey vultures circled above our heads as we lounged on the pier.  The old dog was oblivious to what was soaring high in the sky but I was pondering what had their attention.  Lets hope it was not me!  Go away vultures!  I ain't dead yet!!

  The Bayou Fire brew has been fermenting now for some two months.  It has been waiting for someone to fall ill and need a "helping hand".  Hopefully, that will be all it takes to nip this stuff in the bud but, if not, a visit to the doctor may be in the near future. I have made threats to people that they are not to bring illness to the Little Bayou House but, in all fairness, Mark lives here and it was unavoidable.  So now...Folks, stay away from the Little Bayou House as we are sick folk here!  And do go away, vultures!

Enjoying the Windy Day

  A few days ago, I spent the afternoon hiking about the acreage at my daughter and son-in-law's place.  They have such a nice place for hiking! Hills, creeks, woods, bogs...all make for interesting finds.  While out and about, she and I noticed a vulture flying high in the sky above us. Circling, circling...forever circling above our heads.  Hmmm, that did not bode well for something.  Hopefully, that vulture did not have his eye on us!

  Before long, we noticed that instead of one vulture, there were now several.  The number grew until there were dozens of the birds all circling around us.  Sometimes, the vultures would swoop down just above our heads.  This gave us a good idea of just how large the birds were and how gracefully they could soar.  The vultures were actually beautiful!  Yes, I know.  It is not often that you hear "graceful" and "beautiful" describing vultures but the birds actually are when you really start watching them and studying them.  We noticed that there were several Turkey Vultures with their telltale red heads and then dozens of the Black Vultures with dark colored heads.  

  With so many of the vultures flying overhead (we counted at least thirty!),  Elizabeth and I started pondering if some critter had died or was in the process of dying nearby.  We searched the area but did not find a thing.  Perhaps the birds were circling for another reason other than the old "Western" movie theory of a dying cowboy.  After not finding anything that could be "drawing" the vultures, we decided that the birds were merely soaring on the air currents.  It was quite a windy day making it perfect for a bit of high flying!

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a ....

While Mark and Michael were shingling the shed roof, they called my attention to a large bird that was soaring above them. The bird would catch the southerly wind and just glide over the treetops with such grace and ease that it was impressive to watch. I grabbed the camera and tried my best to catch a photograph of any decent clearness. This proved difficult to do since there were so many trees between the bird and me! We guessed at the identity of the bird even though it was difficult to see. The most insisted upon answer...EAGLE! Yep, the size of the bird definitely hinted at a Bald Eagle! This bird was huge! Still that did not seem right to me..this bird did not have the telltale "bald" head nor the white tail feathers from what I could see. Perhaps a juvenile eagle??? Perplexed by this, I was more determined than ever to get a clear view of the bird. Something just did not seem right with the identification.

I eased my way from under the trees and down the pier. There, I sat with my two friendly ducks as I stared at the sky hoping upon hoping that the bird would glide over the open marsh or water. I could catch glimpses of the bird as it glided through the trees never giving me the view I needed. WHAT was this bird! It was definitely large but for some reason just did not fly like the eagle. I have watched the eagle fish over the open waters and this just wasn't doing that. If this was an eagle, it was sure acting strange. I watched and watched..just waiting for the bird to clear the pines. Then...there was my opportunity! The bird soared over the marsh. This was no eagle..this was a vulture! That is why it seemed to be a most unusual "eagle"..it was NOT an unusual vulture! It was doing quite normal vulture things!

The Turkey Vulture is quite a large bird. It can have a wingspread of about six feet! Size-wise and with the dark coloring, it could easily be mistaken for the eagle but it is there that the similarities end. Where as the Bald Eagle has the beautiful white-feathered head the Turkey Vulture actually has a red, bald or featherless head! It was that red head that clinched the identity for me! The Turkey Vulture totally feeds on carrion and does not hunt or fish as the eagle does. It depends upon its keen sense of smell to find a dead critter on which to feed. It is attracted to the scent of decaying flesh. Another difference between the Turkey Vulture and most other birds (eagle included) is that the vulture has no vocal capabilities other than a few grunts and hisses. It actually does not have the syrinx or vocal organ that allows other birds to sing or otherwise make noises! So the poor vulture is more or less silent.

I know it is strange that I find this bird fascinating and probably even more strange that I am happy to see one making its home on the Bayou. I feel as if it is here for a reason and that if wildlife abounds..all wildlife..then my Bayou is healthy!