A pair of Perry Volunteer Fire Department firefighters and a ladder truck were deployed Thursday afternoon in the opening battle of the war against the turkey vultures.
While Firefighter Rodney Cromwell operated the ladder’s controls, Firefighter Dave Barkley climbed aloft and hung the carcass of a turkey vulture from an upper limb of a large sycamore tree at 1816 Evelyn St. in Perry.
Although the raptors feed on carrion, they scrupulously avoid the decaying bodies of their own species, a behavior found useful in driving them away from areas where they choose to roost.
The dead bird was provided to the fire department by the Perry Police Department, which is permitted by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Migratory Bird Permit to “harvest” as many as five of the protected migrators annually for use as deterrence.
Barkley also hung half a dozen mirror-like objects, including some that jingled as with bells, in order to further discourage the birds from roosting in the residential neighborhood. The birds are believed to dislike the glancing light from the objects and the noise.
Perry Police Department Chief Eric Vaughn said the city is trying the silvered objects, “but from what I understand it has not been as effective as hanging the carcasses in the trees.”
A homeowner on Evelyn Street said when the birds are chased from the Perry water tower, they often come to his neighborhood, fouling the street and nearby structures with their waste.
“They’re sure ugly things, too” he said.
