One of our long-term research objectives is to determine whether the same black vulture pair occupies the shed each year or if occupancy changes, possibly resulting from some form of competition. Another objective of our multi-generational study is to describe relationships between family members from year to year. When three vultures showed up at the shed January 2013, we wanted to know who they were and whether they were related.
Tagging the vultures enables us to identify specific individuals and to determine their inter-relationships. Leg bands or wing tags are placed on many species of birds each year to assist with research regarding parental behavior, migration patterns, survival rates, extended family associations, monogamy, and minimum breeding ages.
Wing tags rather than leg bands are broadly used to identify individual black vultures. This is because vultures regularly urinate on their legs, thereby killing the bacteria that might otherwise accumulate as a result of their walking through carrion while they clean up the environment. This urination also serves to cool their bodies through evaporation. If the kind of leg bands used for other birds were used for vultures, the bands could become encrusted with fecal residue and result in debilitating leg irritation. For this reason, patagial tags are used for vultures. These tags are secured to the birds’ patagium, a fold of skin in the front of their wings. The tags can be read from a considerable distance, both when the vultures are flying overhead and when they are perched. They remain in place for several years, often for the life-span of the bird.
Tri-State is fortunate to have support for our tagging from David Barber of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. David has extensive experience in wing-tagging and trains others in this procedure. Three interns accompanied David when he tagged a black vulture in northern Delaware on May 7, 2013. They were Marian Wahl of San Francisco, Marta Sendra Vega of Cadiz, Spain, and Hankyu Kim of Seoul, South Korea.
Adult vultures are tagged shortly after their chicks hatch since the adults are much less likely to abandon a nest then. Chicks are tagged a couple weeks before they fledge, after which they are even more difficult to capture. Gender was determined by DNA testing.
The pictures below demonstrate the challenges and care involved in capturing, tagging, and tracking black vultures. Click on a picture to enlarge it.
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- The Capture Squad monitored vulture movements as part of planning for a safe capture.
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- At the same time, wary vultures monitored Capture Squad’s preparations.
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- Tri-State’s Capture Squad is elated after a long, thoughtful, and successful campaign.
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- After capture, the male vulture was brought to Tri-State and monitored remotely in a holding pen until the tagging team was ready.
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- Prior to tagging, measurements were taken by skilled bird handlers and researchers.
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- David Barber of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary skillfully attached a tag with assistance from Tri-State’s staff.
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- Tagging went smoothly and according to plan.
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- The Tag Team, from left: Marian Whal , Aimee Federer, Erica Miller, Greg Keegan, Marta Sedra Vega, Sarah Tegtmeier, Hankyu Kim, and David Barber.
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- Tagged and measurements taken, black vulture #17 Is more than ready to return home.
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- And return he did! Quick like a vulture. All the way home.
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- Explaining all this to his wife was a challange.
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- After the excitement, the parents promptly resumed their routines to care for their chick.
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- Now it was easy to distinguish the adult male from the female.
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- V-Cuber Lynn Helck (right) joined the team for tagging the three chicks, including “Stevie” and the two orphan chicks adopted by the adults.
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- Now it was possible to easily distinguish between the three chicks.
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- Tag numbers are visable whether the birds are perched or soaring overhead.
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- The wiley adult female eluded attempts to tag her. This year.
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- Since the adult male was tagged, we could determine whether he or she was caring for the chicks at any point in time.
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- The tags will enable us to identify individual members of this family throughout the year.
During May and June 2013, four of the five members of one vulture family were tagged with bright yellow wing tags from Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, numbered as follows:
* Adult male: #17 (left wing)
* Adult female (presumed): untagged
* Male chick from adult pair: #26 (left wing)
* Male foster chick from MD: #30 (left wing)
* Male foster chick from MD: #267 (right wing)
On June 20, 2016 two more chicks from the nest were tagged:
• Chick from adult pair #56 (left wing)
• Chick from adult pair #247 (right wing)
On June 6, 2017, two more chicks from the nest were tagged:
• Chick from adult pair #347 (right wing)
• Chick from adult pair #294 (right wing) Died 7/12/17 as a result of a raccoon attack.
Three of these six birds have been sighted since they were tagged:
#17: Adult Male Tagged 5/6/13
5/9/13 Near Middle Run Valley Natural Area, Newark, DE (39d42’52.39” x 75d43’34.67”)
3/9/14 Old Coach Rd x Polly Drummond Hill Rd, Newark, DE (39d42’40.81” x 75d42’40.26”)
5/22/14 Near Middle Run Valley Natural Area, Newark, DE (39d42’52.39” x 75d43’34.67”)
8/6/14 Linden Hill Rd x Polly Drummond Hill Rd, Newark, DE (39d43’02.45” x 75d42’39.35”)
6/11/14 Near Stafford Avenue Park, Newark, DE (39d41’13.43” x 75d43’56.14”)
#26: Male Chick Tagged 6/13/13
9/25/13 New Linden Hill Rd x Boyds Valley Dr, Newark, DE (39d43’15.35” x 75d42’20.10”)
1/12/14 Bridlebrook Lane (?), Newark, DE (39d42’11.99” x 75d46’37.32”)
2/12/16 Woodland Trails, Newark, DE (39d38’52.00” x 75d54’30.00”)
3/3/16 Near Frightland, Middletown,DE (39d31’29.00” x 75d38’55.00”)
#267: Male Chick Tagged 6/13/13
9/25/13 New Linden Hill Rd x Boyds Valley Dr,Newark, DE (39d43’15.35” x 75d42’20.10”)
If you spot any vultures of any species with wing tags anywhere, please report your sighting in the comment section below. In addition, please submit information about US and Canadian sightings to the Bird Banding Laboratory. Include the date and location of the sighting, tag number, species, and any other pertinent information. In return, the Laboratory will tell you where, when, and by whom the birds were tagged. Reports can be submitted to BBL online at http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBL/
Hi Bob,
He was seen on my walk in the Great Valley Corporate Center at Church and Swedesford Rd in Malvern PA. If you find out his origin I would love to hear his story.
Arionne
Thanks, Arionne!
Looks like a Turkey Vulture to me, but we are very interested in their travels, too. Great picture! Can you provide a more specific location? Street address or nearest road intersection? Dave Barber of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary would like as detailed coordinates as we can provide. Thanks again for posting.
We spotted black vulture#248 in Malvern PA
Nikki, Mark, Erika, Kevin-
Thanks for the posts! The sightings are valuable.
I saw a black vulture with a white tag that read P-6 in fallbrook calif at 4pm on thursday the 14th.
#17 and another un-tagged vulture were on my back deck this morning sunning. I live in Pike Creek, DE off of Polly Drummond and New Linden Hill Rd.
[#17 is an adult male tagged at Tri-State 5/16/13]
red tag #194 Hiawatha Kansas july 13 2014 10:30 am on barn ridge at my residence.
Saw a turkey (?) vulture today in a field with two other vultures. It had a blue wing tag but I could not see a number. It was feeding on road kill that had been tossed into the field. Saw it about a 300 feet North of the entrance to Rosemont Camping Resort in Tamaqua, PA. I will look for it again tomorrow or Friday and look for a number…. :^)
Louis, James, Alex- Thank you SO MUCH for the postings.
I spotted a black vulture, wing tag #17, in Newark DE. This was near Newarks Stafford Park.
[#17 is an adult male tagged at Tri-State 5/6/13]
On June 10, 2014, a black vulture with yellow tags on both wings (#227)was spotted resting on a chimney of a single family house. Gambrills/Davidsonville, MD.
Black Vulture with yellow tag #47 found perched on my deck rail for several minutes. It then lifted up to my chimney top for another few minutes before flying away. This occurred the morning of JUN 4th. I reside in Ransom (Lackawanna County)PA.
Tagged vulture #17 and an untagged vulture, presumably the adult pair, were observed today on the roof of a building near Middle Run Natural Area off Possum Hollow Road. A tagged and untagged pair were also seen perched on a sign at Possum Park Mall last week. It appears that, although the pair did not choose to nest under our cameras this year, they did not venture far off.
[#17 is an adult male tagged at Tri-State 5/6/13.]
Saw #17 eating a dead raccoon at 1pm today (Mar 9th) at 39 42’44.36 and 75 42’41.80. This is just north of the intersection of Old Coach Rd and Polly Drummond Hill Road.
[#17 is an adult male tagged at Tri-State 5/6/13.]
Ann and Dave,
Thank you so much for the information. Tagged #26 is Stephen aka Stevie. A black vulture tagged #215 I believe was tagged in Rose Tree Media, PA, in 2011. A close relation perhaps. How exciting!
We have spent quite a few hours driving around the area, hoping to see them.
Ann, Thanks for sharing your space and allowing them to stay. Must be a beautiful sight.
Ann and Dave-
Thanks so much for your posts. We want so much to know where the tagged vultures travel. And with whom.
There are no existing multi-generation studies of specific individuals for black vultures. There are multi-generational studies of flock sizes, etc., but from our vulture family we may learn about monogamy, husbandry, sibling relationships, etc. over time that have never been observed. It will become increasingly interesting in the years ahead as we are able to tag more and more of the chicks and watch interactions of family members. There also is the possibility of eventually putting a transmitter on one to track its movements year around, as has recently been done for Snowy Owls. (See http://www.projectsnowstorm.org/posts/henlopen-hungerford/ ) As we learn more, we will come up with questions we do not even know to ask at this point.
Thanks again!
I saw #213 eating a dead deer along the side of a road near Gibralter PA
in 2 1 2014
On January 11, 2014, a black turkey vulture number 26 was seen in Newark, Delaware. He has a yellow tag with number 26. He was with a flock of black and turkey vultures. He was seen with a flock of about 30 vultures that winter in the tall pines in our back yard.
[#26 was tagged at Tri-State on 6/13/13]
Wonderful, I am thrilled. I will try to get to the area and see if I can locate them, we’ve been trying.
Sharon, thank you so very much. That would be Ethyl/foster/267 and Stephen Colbert aka Stevie/26.
What time was this? I decided to stagger the times and still we haven’t found them.
Two or three of the vultures tagged by Tri-State Bird Rescue/Hawk Mountain Sanctuary were seen by Jenny this morning in New Castle County, DE, along New Linden Hill Rd, near Boyds Valley Dr. They were with a big flock (the observer lost count at 35) feeding on a deer carcass. Tags were yellow. Tag numbers observed were #267 on the right wing and #26 on the left wing.
Thanks, Sharon!
You can report the sighting (and learn where and when and by whom the bird was tagged) by submitting sighting information at the USGS website https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/bblretrv/index.cfm . Indicate you are the “finder” and reporting a “Color Marker Only” obtained by “Sighting of a color marker…”, and other info requested. Please let us know what you learn about the banding details by posting them here.
We observed a right wing tagged Black Vulture in the Everglades this spring Tag was lettered CLA and was faded pink orange. It was difficult for me to find where to report tagged Black Vultures. Please let me know where the bird was tagged and if anyone needs more info I am happy to send the picture info.
Hi Bob,
Very nice photos you have added. Thank You. I will continue to try to locate them and keep you posted.
On May 9, a black vulture with a yellow wing tag numbered 17 was seen in the vicinity of the Middle Run Valley Natural Area in northern Delaware. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary uses yellow wing tags for black vultures. This vulture was tagged by Hawk Mountain Sanctuary’s David Barber and his international team, assisted by staff and volunteers from Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research, on May 6, 2013 in northern Delaware.
[#17 was tagged at Tri-State Bird on 5/6/13]
On April 17, 2013, a turkey vulture was observed with a blue wing tag numbered 250 over a flight cage at Tri-State Bird Rescue in Newark, Delaware that was then holding a turkey vulture being rehabilitated. David Barber of the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary confirmed that they had tagged this bird on June 23, 2011 at Rushton Farms in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. This vulture has also seen in July, 2012 in Newark, DE. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary uses blue wing tags for turkey vultures.