Posted
on March 15, 2014
There
is a lovely spring-is-coming tradition, where I live in Southern California, that the swallows return to Mission San Juan Capistrano every March 19. (Although the tradition hasn't been kept up of late! Birds these
days! What're you gonna do?)
Well,
the town of Hinkley, Ohio, has a less-lovely-sounding tradition every
March 15—at least for the past 150 years. That's the date that the
buzzards return from their wintering grounds.
 |
| Swallow |
Why
do I say “less lovely”? I suppose it's ridiculous prejudice
against scavengers – that is, animals that eat already-dead, decaying creatures.
Of course, it's terrific that scavengers like buzzards
exist—or we'd be surrounded by those dead, decaying creatures!—but
buzzards are larger than swallows, and they're arguably less
graceful. They flap more than they flit. And we find their bald,
red-skinned heads...well, uglier than the swallows' fluffily feathered
heads.
 |
| Buzzard |
Anyway,
I'm so happy that the people of Hinkley—plus around 9,000
visitors each year—give the returning buzzards a big welcome. People sip
their early-morning coffee and nibble on treats as they wait with their binoculars
and cameras, each hoping to be the first to spot the buzzards.
And a few people wear buzzard shirts. Even buzzard hats!
What's
the difference between vultures and buzzards?
And
what about turkey vultures and turkey buzzards?
The
creatures who arrive in Hinkley right on time every year are turkey
vultures. Turkey vultures live in North and South America; they are
not closely related to the vultures of the “Old World”—Africa,
Asia, and Europe—but they look a bit like them because they live in
similar ways.
“Buzzards”
is a word used by many in North America for turkey vultures. And some
people call them “turkey buzzards”! So...several names for the
same creature.
In
Hinkley, however, it's buzzard all the way! Today is Buzzard Day,
Sunday will be Buzzard Sunday and feature a pancake breakfast, and
hometown teams often have buzzard mascots!
Also
on this date:
Plan
ahead:
Check
out my Pinterest boards for:
And
here are my Pinterest boards for:
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