Cell tower feels like a nest (NC)

[Donna]

 HICKORY Mount Doom has come to the Viewmont section of Hickory.

A large telecommunications tower near N.C. 127 in the heart of north Hickory hosts a daily gathering of turkey vultures and black vultures.

In mid-afternoon, the big birds begin to arrive and continue gathering until sunset, when the top of the tower is nearly covered with the hulking forms. In the afternoons, there are sometimes dozens of birds on the tower and dozens more circling in the sky overheard.

The tower is the perfect place for the flock to roost as they travel over the countryside looking for food, said Bruce Beerbower, naturalist at the Catawba Science Center in Hickory.

"The birds usually roost in tall trees, but as we cut down more of the old-growth trees, where are they going to go?" said Alan Barnhardt, executive director of the science center. "It just happens to be a roost they like where they can be safe from predators" and hunt for food, he said.

They rest on the tower overnight, and when the morning sun has warmed the air and thermals begin to rise, they take off, Beerbower said.

The turkey vulture is a big bird, with a wingspan of nearly 6 feet. It is an efficient glider, often soaring for hours without flapping a wing. It circles in updrafts, gaining altitude, before diving at speeds up to 60 mph to the next updraft. It searches for food with its keen sense of smell, up to 3 miles distant. It can be identified by its featherless red head.

The black vulture is smaller, with a wingspan of 5 feet, and uses sharp eyesight to find its food. Not quite as ugly as its cousin, it has a featherless, dark-gray head.

Both feed on dead animals, sometimes rotting vegetation, and the black vulture will also feed on small live animals. Together they do a fine job cleaning up roadkill.

[valhalla]

That is where Rich's Dad lives!

[Donna]

That is where Rich's Dad lives!