“V” is for Vulture: Webinar Recording
Portrait of a scavenger. Photo by zoosnow, license-free.
Free online webinar recording with Dennis and Jess Beebe
This Zoom webinar event occurred live on Thursday, May 13, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Please click the link below to view the recording:
“V” is for Vulture
We see them circling overhead almost every day; sometimes we mistake them for hawks. In our area, these large black, bald-headed birds are usually Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura), a member of nature’s efficient clean-up crew. They are scavengers and they have been patrolling the skies for millennia. A total of 23 species make up the vultures found in the New World (the Americas) and the Old World (Europe, Asia and Africa). Turkey Vultures are local representatives of the New World vultures, which in North America also include the California Condor and Black Vulture. Although Turkey Vultures are commonly seen, they are little studied and much of their behavior remains unknown. This lecture addresses what is known about turkey vultures, including their evolution, ecology, and how they are treated worldwide, from reverence to revulsion.
Jess Bebe. Photo courtesy of Dennis Bebe.
Dennis Bebe. Photo courtesy of the speaker.
Dennis and Jess Beebe, father and daughter, return to the Zoom “stage.” Their popular corvid lecture, “Birds in Black… and Blue,” was presented to Society audiences in 2020. Dennis is an amateur naturalist, a member of the Board of Directors of the SYVNHS, and a volunteer docent with the non-profit NatureTrack and the Sedgwick Reserve. Jess also volunteers for NatureTrack, and her passion for birding has led her to birding sites throughout the Western U.S. and many foreign countries.
