Strung-up buzzard carcass: a warning

Photographer Marc Clery had his antennae up this week when he was riding along Gills Neck Road in Lewes.  He spotted a dead bird hanging in a tree.  Turns out it was a buzzard strung up with clothes line. Marc wasn't sure the picture was news worthy but he sent it along. Hanging a dead buzzard in an area is one method used by people to discourage buzzards from roosting nearby.  There has been a colony of black vultures - as opposed to turkey buzzards - proliferating in Lewes over the past several years.  Black vultures are more aggressive than turkey vultures and many people do everything they can to discourage them from establishing a foothold in an area.

This is the time of the year when vultures - and lots of other birds - are nesting.  Turkey buzzards - and I suspect black vultures too - are ground nesters.  They try to find a sheltered area to make their nests.  Deteriorating, abandoned buildings are a favorite place.  Last weekend, riding on the trail between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach, I noticed several turkey buzzards sitting on the ridge of an abandoned building where the trail comes to an end at Hebron Road in West Rehoboth.  My guess is that if someone were to go in the building, they would find a vulture's nest inside.

Several buildings have been demolished recently along Hebron Road.  The properties are littered with tons of trash that need to be removed. This area is outside city limits and in Sussex County jurisdiction. Hopefully action will be taken soon to enforce the laws that prohibit such nuisances.  There are lots of children in West Rehoboth and their health and welfare are endangered by these trash-littered sites.