Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Spotting a green tagged Turkey Vulture

It seems like in the last month or so there has been a flurry of sightings of Turkey Vultures (TUVU) with green tags on their wings!  According to Dr. Stuart Houston of Saskatoon the lead of the Turkey Vulture tagging program in Saskatchewan, 1225 Turkey Vultures have now been tagged in the province over the last 11 years!

Despite having been involved in this project for about 4 of those years, at the beginning of this summer I still had never seen a tagged Turkey Vulture flying around!  However, that all changed on Sunday this week, as we drove home from Big Sandy Lake.

We were just two miles north of Melfort when Kristen spotted a TUVU circling in the air beside the road.  I was going to pull over to have a look at the bird, when a second bird flew out of the ditch, just as we passed it and landed on a nearby fence post.  As the bird flew out of the ditch I caught a glimpse of a green wing tag!

A88 just taking off.

Sure enough, upon turning around.  There sat a Turkey Vulture with A88 on its patagial tag.  Bird banders are not able to band TUVU with a standard aluminum band, because of their habit of defecating down their legs as a way to cool themselves.  Over time their crap can build up on an aluminum band and cause damage to the birds leg. So instead some banders put patagial tags on the TUVU wings.

We were just able to get a glimpse of the tag's digits when the bird flew away.

 A88 in flight.

A88 in flight.

Back at home, I contacted the Dr. Stuart Houston and informed him of our sighting.  It turns out this bird is 6 years old!  It was tagged on August 30, 2009 near Hagen, SK as a nestling.  Therefore, 6 years later, this bird is only 70 km away from where it hatched!  Pretty amazing when you consider that these birds winter in Costa Rica or South America!  And it has gone south 5 times now during its life.

My certificate of appreciation for the tag sighting.

What adds to this story, is that this is not the first time A88 has been seen! In October, 2009, on its first migration south, A88 was observed near Trossachs, SK.  And then again in August 2012, this bird was sighted in Saskatchewan!

If you are so lucky as to observe a tagged Turkey Vulture, make sure you record the date, location (gps location is optimal), the tag number, colour of tag (different colours mean different projects) and what the bird was up to.  You can contact me at my email address on this blog and I can put you in touch with Dr. Houston.  Its important to get the 'air number' from Dr. Houston, prior to submitting your observation through the www.reportband.gov website, as this will help speed up the process.

Dayne Wilkinson, just contacted me a few days ago (June 22) for just that reason after his dad snapped this photo of E81 just west of Prince Albert, SK.  This bird was tagged in 2012, making it 3 years old now.
Turkey Vulture E81 - Thanks Mr. Wilkinson for letting me post your photo!

14 comments:

Donna Gilbert said...

We just saw a green tagged turkey vulture in our backyard area. It's band number was 09C. We live in Enola, PA.

Unknown said...

Just spotted Tagged Black Tuvu with tag number F71 in the Littlestown, Pa area. Been seeing Tagged Black Tuvu in my backyard since last summer. We put food scrapes out (raw & cooked) for local wildlife. The Tuvu seem to be enjoying the cuisine.

Anonymous said...

I saw a buzzard in my yard today with bright green tags on both wings. I couldn't see the number on the tag. My eyes aren't that good and I couldn't get close enough . I tried using binoculars.8 live 8n Hartly Delaware

Unknown said...

Just saw on with 2 green tags, one each wing, in back yard with tag 09H. Wawa pa Delaware county. 3/26/22

Unknown said...

Just saw a buzzard in my backyard with a green tag # H95, Salem New Jersey.

Noelle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

4/17/22 - Saw a Buzzard of sorts in a group yesterday. Green Tag 33E.
Along the Susquehanna River, Central PA.

Anonymous said...

73E spotted in my back yard in Conestoga,Pa. 17516. 12/21/22

Anonymous said...

37C green tag today in Dover, PA 17315

Anonymous said...

I just saw one in my neighbor’s front yard. Green tag. It was hopping around some small dead creature.

CindyC said...

Saw a bright green tag off Fishing Creek Valley Road in Harrisburg, PA... either 43F or 93F. Hard to read as wild turkeys were chasing the turkey vultures from the food.

Anonymous said...

Just saw my first green tag turkey vulture in Coatesville PA. 10-31-23

Carol said...

I spotted a t.vulture with a green tag on both wing, and one with yellow tag.@11 am,Jan.4,2024 in rural field Schuylkill Haven ,Pa.

Anonymous said...

Tag 72F green tag Coal Township PA near the Shamokin Area Stadium