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Re: Vulture vs Martins



--- Maginnis <maginnis@knology.net> wrote:
> Greetings,
> Do martins usually go after
> something so much bigger than 
> themselves? I assume they are trying to protect
> their nest.

Small birds can be quite brave while protecting the
nest, especially when they have nestlings.  Martins
are colonial nesters and colonial nesters often engage
in mobbing behavior on large predators (perceived) in
defense of the nests.

> Tell me, can a vulture see something as small as a
> baby raccoon in marsh 
> grass?? 

Turkey Vultures, unlike many birds, have a fairly good
sense of smell.  TVs have been "observed circling over
leaks in a natural gas pipeline after engineers
introduced ethyl mercaptan, the gas responsible for
the pungent odor of rotting flesh, into the pipe."
http://www.birdersworld.com/brw/amazingbirds/1998/9810_nose.html

If it has seen [smelled] it will it try to get to it
> and eat it even if it is 
> fairly close to a suburban backyard?

MMMMmmmmm.  I think it depends on how hungry and how
safe the TVs would feel to eat it where you threw it. 
And, safety comes in many forms, including numbers! 

Kendrick Weeks
Raleigh


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