V is for Vulture

Mother vulture sitting on her eggs.

A raptor rehabilitation specialist from the Auburn University Southeastern Raptor Center placing an orphaned baby with its new vulture family.

This spring, the Saint James School elementary office had some unexpected visitors. A pair of vultures made a home in the shady area behind principal Harris’s office. To our surprise, two eggs were discovered in the pine straw, with mother and father vulture taking turns sitting on the eggs. In April, two baby vultures hatched and quickly started growing. The excitement was covered in a weekly segment on STJtv appropriately named “vulture watch!” Students and faculty quickly took interest in this story and watched closely as the babies grew and began to lose their pin feathers (thin, fluffy down feathers of a baby bird). Last week, a raptor rehabilitation specialist from the Auburn University Southeastern Raptor Center visited campus with a special delivery. An orphaned baby vulture, called a nestling, was placed with our STJ vulture family. The newly adopted baby is doing well and is loving living on campus. Once the nestlings are old enough to fly and hunt independently, they will travel on to a new home.

The adopted baby vulture meeting its new siblings.

North American vultures, also known as turkey buzzards, typically live as a couple or in small groups. They are best known for being scavengers and having a large wingspan. Our science lab coordinator has been sharing information about vultures and other birds of prey with our elementary students as we have watched this story unfold! We have loved seeing this feathered family grow and are thankful for the Southeastern Raptor Center and all they do. To learn more about the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine’s bird rehabilitation program and the mission of the Southeastern Raptor Center, visit their website: https://www.vetmed.auburn.edu/raptor/ #wearesaintjamesschool

Check out Vulture Watch on STJtv!