Turkey Vultures - Nature's Cleaning Crew

Keith Ross
3 days ago
4 min read

Carrion On About Sumpthin' - Sequim, WA - So close to a Dad joke huh? 🙂 They are back! Turkey vultures that spend their summers here in Sequim migrate south for winter, often traveling to California, Arizona, Texas, Mexico, and even Central America. They return each spring when warmer air currents help them soar again. These incredible birds may travel thousands of miles but often return to the same areas each year. Many of the vultures you see now just arrived back on the Olympic Peninsula for breeding season.

Turkey Vultures Return to Sequim Washington

Nare Do Well! - Sequim, WA - Get it??? The turkey vulture’s nostrils or nares are adapted to detect the slightest whiff of odor in thin air. It's nostrils are wide open without a septum or middle wall that separates the nostrils.

Turkey vultures have one of the best senses of smell of any bird in the world. They can detect gases released during decomposition from over a mile away.

Unlike most birds, they don’t rely mainly on sight — they literally smell their food.

Scientists have even used turkey vultures to help detect gas leaks because they are attracted to similar chemical compounds.

Rare Stare Forward - Sequim, WA - Never taken a photo of one looking at me till now!

Turkey vultures have eyes more on the sides of their head than true raptors like hawks and eagles. This gives them:

• Excellent wide-angle vision

• Good ability to spot carcasses while soaring

• Less binocular (forward-focused) vision than hawks

True raptors like eagles and hawks have more forward-facing eyes which gives them:

• Strong depth perception

• Better ability to judge distance for catching live prey

Turkey vultures don’t need that as much because they:

• Rarely hunt live animals

• Feed mostly on carrion

• Rely heavily on smell in addition to vision

So compared to bald eagles their vision is less specialized for precision hunting and more for scanning large areas.

Winged Marvel - Sequim, WA - When turkey vultures soar, they hold their wings in a slight V shape called a dihedral. This helps them stay stable while riding thermals. If you see a large dark bird wobbling slightly while soaring with wings in a V, it’s probably a turkey vulture.

Bald eagles and hawks hold their wings flatter and fly more steadily.

Nature's Clean-Up Crew - Sequim, WA - Turkey vultures play a critical role in the ecosystem by cleaning up dead animals. Their highly acidic stomach acid destroys dangerous bacteria like anthrax and botulism. Without vultures, disease could spread much more easily. Their immune system lets them safely eat what would make most animals very sick.

Defensive Vomiting - Hobuck Beach, WA - Turkey vultures have an unusual defense mechanism — they can vomit if threatened. This both startles predators and makes them lighter for quick escape.

This behavior is called defensive regurgitation. Something to consider when walking under one in a tree.

Bald & Beautiful! - Gardiner, WA - Turkey Vultures have bald heads for hygiene. Feathers would trap bacteria when feeding on carrion, but bare skin stays cleaner. Their red head is why they are called turkey vultures — it resembles the head of a wild turkey. Pretty exciting to have him in our yard preening!

Greeting a Very Deer Friend - Sequim, WA - Hoping you will accept a little humor instead of a proper supporting image for these next fun facts. 🙂 Unlike hawks or eagles, turkey vultures do not build stick nests. Instead they usually lay their eggs directly on the ground in sheltered locations.

Common nesting sites include:

Natural locations:

• Hollow logs

• Rock crevices

• Caves

• Abandoned buildings

• Under fallen trees

• Dense brush piles

• Cliff ledges

• Occasionally under decks or in outbuildings

Here on the Olympic Peninsula and around Sequim, they often nest in:

• Forested bluffs

• Driftwood piles

• Quiet wooded areas

• Sometimes even old barns

Nest details

• They usually lay 2 eggs

• Eggs are laid directly on dirt or debris

• No real nest material is used

• Both parents help incubate

• Incubation lasts about 38–41 days

Interesting behavior:

Turkey vultures choose hidden, quiet places because their chicks are vulnerable (they don’t have strong talons like raptors).

The chicks defend themselves the same way adults do — by vomiting, which smells terrible and discourages predators.

Low Pass - Sequim, WA - I hope you enjoyed this series and learned some things about these guys so you can appreciate them as they are back for the summer now!

Are turkey vultures actually raptors? This depends on how strictly you define raptor.

Ecologically (general use): Yes

Many birders casually group them with raptors because they are:

• Large birds of prey

• Soaring birds

• Hook-billed

• Carnivorous

Scientifically (taxonomy): No

Turkey vultures belong to a different family:

• Turkey vultures: Family Cathartidae (New World vultures)

• True raptors: Families like:

• Accipitridae (hawks, eagles)

• Falconidae (falcons)

• Strigidae (owls)

Turkey vultures are actually more closely related (genetically) to storks than to hawks, which surprises most people. Their feet are actually much weaker than hawks, which is another reason they aren’t considered true raptors. They’re built more like chicken feet than eagle talons.