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40 °F 5 Day Forecast Tuesday, December 9, 2003 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | eSouthernOregon | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend November 27, 2003 Since You Asked Black birds could have been turkey ... vultures I can answer the recent inquiry about the black birds. That was the annual migration gathering of the Western Hemisphere buzzards. I live on East Main and Highland and observed this for about 40 minutes. They soar on the late afternoon thermals, then take off in unison and fly south. It is quite a sight. — Wayne C., Medford Glad you saw ‘em, Wayne, and thanks. When F.M. of Medford wrote to say he’d seen "large black birds," we weren’t thinking large like turkey vultures, which with a 6-foot wingspread are hard to confuse with anything else. Even at a great distance you can tell a vulture from a red-tailed hawk by the slight V of its wings and the wobble in its get-along. Advertisement Most turkey vultures are gone from the area now. They will be back by March. Although in recent years several have wintered over in Jackson County. Since the Bear Creek Valley is a principal migration route for vultures, you may be seeing both "our" vultures and ones from up north. New World vultures were long thought to be related to raptors, but DNA studies have shown they are more closely related to storks. Some migrating vultures go to California, some as far as Mexico. There's a Turkey Vulture Festival in Kernville, Calif., where 30,000 have been counted in September. At a distance, you might mistake a raven for a crow, or a Brewer’s blackbird for a starling. But it’s pretty hard to mistake a turkey vulture for anything. Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541- 776-4376; or by e-mail to [email protected] . We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times