Have You Spotted Turkey Vultures in Manchester?

Have you seen a pack of turkey vultures around the Adams Street area recently? Or anywhere else in town? 

Apparently, according to a number of Manchester Patch readers, the big birds are a common site in that area of town, and have been for years. 

"There have always been a large number of them in the neighborhood between Center and Middle Tpke West, along the Adams St corridor. They're very large, and can be seen up in the trees and sitting on roofs/chimneys, etc. I've seen them for a few years now," Daniel Cima wrote on Manchester Patch's Facebook wall.

"I saw them in a tree near the corner of Adams & Center, I saw them in a tree on the side of 84 just pass the Keeney Street exit going west. I have seen individual ones on School Street going for road kill - they are huge and quite ugly - but very interesting too," she wrote on Manchester Patch's Facebook page. 

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According to the Turkey Vulture Society's website, turkey vultures are "common in the United States, and throughout most of the New World down to Tierra del Fuego and over to the Falkland Islands. It possesses a keen sense of smell, along with possibly the other two members of the Cathartes genus, the greater and lesser yellow-headed vultures, and this sense may be critical to foraging success in certain environments. The black vulture, the other common vulture species in the United States, has a more southerly distribution, lacks the graceful flight of the turkey vulture, and depends more on keen eyesight than sense of smell when foraging."

Manchester Patch Editor David Moran took a drive around the Adams Street area Friday afternoon, but couldn't spy any turkey vultures. Still, it's an interesting phenomenon and one that bears watching in town. What do you think has led the birds to Manchester? And why do you think they stick around? 

If you've ever snapped a picture of any turkey vultures in Manchester, you can share your photos with your friends and neighbors on Manchester Patch by directly uploading them to this article (just click on the Upload Photos and Video button above - but you must first be signed in as a user on Manchester Patch to add photos). And if you've ever seen a turkey vulture in town, share your experience in the comment section below.