[Bristol-Birds] King College hosting large vulture roost !

A winter vulture roost, which may approach
nearly 100 birds, has begun to build up in east
Bristol, TN.

It is near the intersection of East Cedar St.
King College Rd. and East State Street.

I don't yet know how stable the roost is or if the birds
have a significant site fidelity.

Black Vultures and Turkey Vultures have
roosted in the vicinity in varying numbers for about a decade.

I have not yet counted the breakdown of Black Vultures to
Turkey Vultures.  They are thick as nats.



















The photo above shows the roost site in black and the former
roost site in green.  Middlebrook Lake is in the top right corner.

The birds have evidently moved all or most of their roost about
three quarters of a mile to the southwest of the green site, down
to the area shown in black.  For nearly six weeks or more they have mostly
been using the right portion of the black area but, as of 2 Dec 2008,
it appears that they now are using the left area of the black site.
This is almost exclusively on the east end of the King College 
campus.

Administrators of King College are not going to be pleased with this
development and we should expect some very verbal, public,
attention if the roost continues to grow over winter.

In the green area, residents have had public meetings with all
kinds of officials and banged metal plates, fired gun blasts and
shot fireworks for years, trying to chase them away.  Unless
they have a new and successful approach, mother nature moved
the roost for her own reasons.

These large roost in town have been causing concerns in
Abingdon, Va in recent winters and now, apparently, at 
Greeneville, Tn.

It should be very interesting.

Let's go birding. . . .

Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN

JPEG image

Other related posts: