Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!uunet!lll-winken!neoucom!redpoll!red
From: red@redpoll.neoucom.edu (Richard E. Depew)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: The buzzards of Hinkley
Summary: Hinkley buzzards are turkey vultures
Message-ID: <1990Dec9.010930.15344@redpoll.neoucom.edu>
Date: 9 Dec 90 01:09:30 GMT
References: <532@research.cc.flinders.oz> <1990Dec6.130950@Unify.com> <1990Dec7.150814.12291@granite.cr.bull.com>
Distribution: rec.birds,usa
Organization: Home, Munroe Falls, Ohio
Lines: 41

In article <1990Dec7.150814.12291@granite.cr.bull.com>
horvath@granite.cr.bull.com (John Horvath) writes:
>Speaking of generic terms for various raptors:
>Someplace in Ohio (Hinkley?), they have some sort of media blitz
>every spring about the return of buzzards to hinkley. It was difficult
>to determine whether they meant turkey vultures or hawks in general.
>Its an entertaining story, but I have always been curious about
>which bird they were talking about.
>Has anybody been there?

Finally, someone is asking about MY neck o'the woods.  :-)

Yes, Hinkley Ohio (just south of Cleveland) is the place you are
thinking of, and turkey vultures are the celebrated buzzards that
return to Hinkley each spring, along with the TV remote crews.  :-) 
No wimpy swallows, bugs, or subterranian rodent for Hinkley (1)...
I wonder if we could get the buzzard accepted as the state bird? 
We do accept a lot of out-of-state garbage.  :-)

Speaking of buzzards, my boss had a couple of them perched on his
fence this spring (about the same time they returned to Hinkley), and
reported that they were staring at his neighbor's garden.  Then he
remembered that his neighbor had hit a deer with his car the previous
fall, killing it, and had buried it in his garden.  He surmised that
the vultures had been attracted by an odor from the buried deer. 
Either that, or the buzzards had bugged the deer before they left for
Florida the year before.  :-)

Wonderful birds, these buzzards!

(1)  For our overseas readership, "swallows" refers to the LITTLE birds
that supposedly return to Capistrano, California on the same date each
year, "bugs" refers to the over-wintering swallowtail butterflys of 
someplace in California (Ocean Grove?) and "rodent" refers to the
"Groundhog Day" groundhog (Pete?) of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.  Any
excuse for a party!  :-)

Dick Depew
--
Richard E. Depew                      red@redpoll.neoucom.edu
Village of Munroe Falls, OH.          uunet!aablue!redpoll!red