[syndicate] vultures

[Alan Sondheim]

vultures

although guidebooks list turkey vultures summering across Pennsylvania,
this is the first I've seen in the Valley. it's a probable harbinger of
climate change; the local rabbits, skunks, and possums have disappeared
this year. (the possums came only three years ago.) lawns seem in trouble,
perhaps under attack from fungi or nematodes. last year we saw 11 blue
herons - this year, none. the Canadian goose population seems decimated.
there was a killdeer on the Susquehanna banks. last year, several hawk
species - this year, none; this might be nothing more than chance
observations, but there seems to be an underlying pattern. I photographed
the vulture in flight around the local Valley airport. pardon the shaky
camera; it was the best I could do in the wind. 3 to 4 were seen, somewhat
together; vultures are social creatures. something was tasty near the
airport runway.

http://www.asondheim.org/vulture.mp4

I'd be interested in hearing stories about climate change in your, in
anyone's, neck of the woods. what species have increased? what species
have disappeared? global transformations lead to local, as well as global,
symptoms. animal and plant populations are on the move, some heading
towards destruction, some able to survive migration. overall, the
prognosis is one of disaster, and I wonder what really happened to the
rabbits?