[Tweeters] Turkey Vultures

[jimbetz at jimbetz.com]

Tweet - Tweet - Tweety Tweet,

   Hi all.  It is quite common to see posts about TUVUs - and, it  
seems to me at
least - they are often reported as though they are "rare" or "notable" (for
example a FOY/FOS).
   We live about 300 feet up on a hill that faces East looking up the  
Skagit Valley.
We see TUVU ... often.  So much so that my tendency is to "just take  
long enough
to establish if it is a TUVU or a Bald Eagle" ... and consider the ID of it
being a TUVU as "disappointing" and at least half the time don't even  
report it
on eBird.  If it is a bald or some other raptor (usually an RTH) I almost
always report it ... but the TUVUs are so "common" that they get dismissed as
being unworthy of the time it takes to post a checklist (which is -not- a
lot of time).

   And I will say that I -think- we see them pretty much all year round.  I
should just check my reports and see if this is true - my suspicion is
that we see them in every month of the year.
   I did that - checked my reports to eBird - and in the 3 years I've
been using eBird I see that I've seen TUVUs in every month except
Jan and Feb.  But I suspect that "I've just not reported them in those
months rather than that I didn't see any ... ???  In fact, eBird shows
TUVU reported in Skagit County for every week of the year except on in
Jan and one it Dec ... so that seems to support that they are here
year round.
   I do know that some TUVU migrate South - we saw many of them just last
October in Veracruz, Mx. and they -seemed- to be migrating rather than
residents.  But the reports of TUVU in Skagit appear to support the
statement that some of them, at least, do not migrate ... ???

   It would seem correct for me to conclude that the TUVUs are 'common' here in
Skagit County ... or at least not rare.
   I am NOT discounting other people's reports.  I'm wondering if the reason
they are so common here is because we live in a much more rural area where
agriculture and logging are still major industries?  Or maybe it is due to
the fact that we sit where we have a very large field of view?

   Anyone have any ideas about this?
                                                        - Jim