By Angela H. Hill

Vultures may be Mother Nature’s free sanitation service, but the kettle circling Mayo Court in the Town of Stuart have become a destructive nuisance, some residents say. They’re defecating on cars, tearing into trash bags, perching on houses, and eating pet food.

It’s illegal to catch, harm or kill the birds; but harassment is fair game. This Friday, at 8:30 and 10 a.m., residents along Mayo Court plan to throw an un-welcoming party for the scavenging guests. They’ll be banging pots and pans, setting off air horns, and making as much racket as possible by all available means.

Ellen Fulcher, who owns rental properties on Mayo Court, has circulated letters asking residents to join the effort. She said anyone who’d like to help is welcome to call her at (276) 694-6421. She plans to continue making noise every day until the vultures find a new place to eat.

Fulcher addressed the Stuart Town Council February 15 about the vultures, having already spoken to several other county administrative departments about what to do. “They’re a protected species,” Mayor Ray Weiland said. “You can’t shoot them or harm them, but you can annoy them.” Both he and Stuart Town Attorney Chris Corbett recommended air horns.

In a letter to the council, she writes that the birds are “terrorizing the residents of Mayo Court. These vultures are a health and safety hazard. They are landing on the porches and eating food left out for the residents’ animals. The droppings are left on porches and on the cars, which will destroy the finish on the vehicles.

“Roofs of the houses are being damaged,” Fulcher continued. “They eat the pellets off the shingles, and peck holes in the shingles underneath.”

Shelby Blankenship, who is a homeowner on Mayo Court, said the birds are knocking shingles loose from the roof and getting into her garbage cans. Fulcher said one of her tenants tied the lid onto her trash can, but the vultures pecked it loose and pulled out the bags. Another tenant put rocks on her trash can to stop the birds from pulling over the can.

J.R. Vipperman, pastor of Abiding Grace Family Worship Center on Mayo Court, said he’s seen the vultures around for years, frequenting a nearby field on the edge of town, though they seem to have moved away from the church and down the street.

The enterprising creatures tend to hang out every Monday, he added, which is of course trash pick-up day on Mayo Court. He said church members harassed the vultures, which “worked for a little bit.”

Vipperman also owns a rental home on Mayo Court, and at one point vultures were sitting on top of his tenant’s dog house watching the dog. “Poor dog probably had no idea they were waiting on him to die,” he said with a chuckle. A large breed, the dog barked until the vultures went away.

These particular vultures are American Black Vultures, which are primarily scavengers but occasionally attack newborn animals such as calves and lambs. Black vultures can weigh up to 6 pounds and have a wingspan of up to 5 feet.

All vultures are protected under federal law by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. It’s illegal to take, kill, or possess vultures. A violation of the law is punishable by a fine of up to $15,000 and imprisonment of up to six months.

Dale Owens, game warden/conservation police officer for Patrick County, said he also stresses to residents and farmers that vultures are federally protected. However, many have been successful in running them off, he added.

“The only real thing you can do is harass the birds until they gets tired of you harassing them and they leave the area,” Owens said. “They’ll find a place they like to roost and come out early in the morning and spread out their wings out and let them dry. They’re not really aggressive animals, but if they find something that smells, that’s where they’re going. They’re going for the stink; the rotten meat or trash.”

Owens agreed that air horns work well, noting that they’re available at Walmart.

“If it was a nuisance animal I could give her a permit, but this is not. It’s a protected animal,” Owens said. “All I can do is refer residents to the FDA.”

Owens said residents can call the regional U.S. FDA office in Forest, Va., at (434) 525-7522. “That is where the biologists are stationed,” he added. He said residents are also welcome to call him through the sheriff’s department’s non-emergency number, (276) 694-3161.