FreeLists / va-richmond-general / [va-richmond-general] Re: vultures - An idea from the past

[deannamail@xxxxxxx]

Well, now, Ben and Betsy, if you are going to cite Virginia Indian history, 
please allow me to set the record straight. Our ancestors did, at the time of 
contact, give small boys the task of sitting in raised shelters in the fields 
to keep birds and other foragers from the crops. But they were tasked with 
shooting them, not scaring them off. This is one way the boys practiced with 
their bows and arrows, and those birds (and small mammals, should they be so 
bold in the daytime) went into the cooking pot. Vultures weren't a problem for 
us, because we didn't leave garbage.
Personally I think the vulture poop is an understandable critique of the 
interpretive content regarding Virginia Indians at Henricus, but that's a 
subject for another list. :)  My impression is that DGIF would be happy to find 
a better solution to this citizen complaint (which is exactly what it is) than 
killing the vultures, but if you expect them to emulate an old Native 
technique, what they are doing now may be the closest modern approximation.
 
Deanna
 
-----Original Message-----
From: ben saunders <betsyben@xxxxxxxx>
To: va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sat, 17 Dec 2005 12:02:30 -0500
Subject: [va-richmond-general] vultures - An idea from the past


        Have just read the many messages about the eradication of Black
Vultures.  It's too late for this batch of birds,  but Ben says that
during times of peak usage, DGIF and other interests should pay someone
minimum wage to shoo vultures away from cars and keep them off the
parking lot.  Native Americans sent young boys out to the fields to scare
the crows and it worked for them. At the very least, it would keep the
birds from destroying cars and messing up the area.  (Irene, I share your
concerns, but vulture poop is undeniably more of a health hazard than
Prothonotary Warbler poop and $700 to repair a damaged car is the last
straw, even for me!) 
        Don't know what Dominion can do about their dangerous towers. The
Native Americans didn't address that one.

Betsy Saunders