Turkey Vulture

The turkey vulture is a large raptor that feeds exclusively on carrion. It searches for carrion by soaring in forested and open habitats, using vision and smell to locate food. Its highly developed sense of smell allows it to find food in dense forest. The turkey vulture nests in caves, cliffs or bluffs, under boulders on rockslides, in large cavities in hollow snags or, occasionally, in dense vegetation on the ground. Its nesting habitat requirements in B.C. are very poorly understood, but in general western populations are thought to use mainly caves for nest sites. In B.C., it nests as isolated pairs. The breeding season extends from early April to late August. The turkey vulture roosts communally at night during migration, and during cold wet weather it may remain in the roost all day.

The turkey vulture is blue-listed because interior breeding populations are relatively low, and much of the coastal population gathers in one area of southern Vancouver Island during the autumn migration, which makes it vulnerable to habitat change. Over 1000 turkey vultures stage each autumn near Sooke.

Issues:

• May be distributing into Lillooet Sub Region and displacing other birds of prey
• Populations at risk across British Columbia

Goals:

• Determine distribution of turkey vultures in and around Lillooet Sub Region
• Determine the impacts of turkey vulture presence on other birds of prey in the Lillooet Sub Region