It is always rewarding when we can successfully rehabilitate wildlife patients, as many of the cases admitted to the MARS wildlife centre are beyond help by the time they arrive.
Last week saw the return of two patients that were rescued and have spent almost a year in captivity. Initially both birds were treated for their injuries and then sent to OWL, another wildlife centre in Ladner, where they spent several months rebuilding their strength and flight muscles in large flight pens.
Turkey vultures are not regular guests at MARS, which is fortunate as some of their eating habits are quite gross to watch! These vultures are a common sight in the early summer skies as they soar on the air currents, keeping a nose out for their dinner.
Often mistaken for bald eagles, vultures are actually members of the stork family. They were known to the Cherokee First Nations as "peace eagles," a reflection of their non-aggressive nature.
They have neither talons nor a hooked beak capable of killing or tearing apart prey; in fact they do not kill their prey at all. Turkey vultures have many unique characteristics some of which are quite repulsive but at the same time serve a useful purpose.
Vultures do not rely on their eyesight like raptors to locate their food; they are scavengers by nature and eat rotting carrion or vegetation. To detect their food they rely on an enhanced sense of smell and can locate the rotting food by detecting gasses released by the decaying meat.
A featherless head is thought to have evolved to prevent feather rot a condition that occurs when feathers collect food particles and cannot be preened clean; vultures feed by putting their heads inside the carcass which would definitely result in feather rot!
When seen in flight it is difficult to determine the eagle from the vulture, an easy way to tell is by the way they hold their wings when soaring on the air currents. A vulture holds its wings in a V formation with the leading flight feathers held apart; eagles hold their wings straight out.
The turkey vulture's main diet consists of meat from mammals or fish and they do also eat vegetation. These birds have an extremely efficient digestive system, which protects them from catching any disease the rotting food may carry. Once the food is digested, their waste material is sterilized and free from diseases.
Nothing is wasted by these birds, which are sometimes known as "sanitizers of the desert." They find unique ways to regulate their body temperature making sure no one intrudes on their meal.
Like the stork family, vultures will use their waste materials to cool them off in hot weather; they urinate or defecate on their legs which cools them by evaporation. Meals are protected by the bird vomiting on the food making it very unappetizing for an unwanted dinner guest.
The two turkey vultures rescued last August were returned to MARS after extensive flight training, one had been hit by a garbage truck and managed to flip into the newly emptied truck. Unfortunately, many of our patients are victims of impacts with vehicles and often sustain life-ending injuries; this vulture had a badly broken wing but was fortunate to recover.
The second vulture was a target of an errant shot from a pellet gun. Please be extra cautious on the roads right now.
Many young wildlife species are learning their road smart skills. Be especially aware of ducklings and fawns that lack any road sense and will run into the road.
A thank you to the Grade 2/3 class from Quadra Island who joined me on a bird watching field trip it was great to see such an enthusiastic group who learnt how neat bird watching can be.
Check www.wingtips.org for coming events, to report injured or orphaned wildlife please call 1-800-304-9968. For all other calls, 250-337-2021.
Sandy Fairfield is the educational co-ordinator for the Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society (MARS). The MARS column appears every second Thursday.