We have been calling them buzzards, but those are really turkey vultures who like to congregate on the South White Street water tower.
They cannot affect the water in the elevated tank, but their wastes can damage the tank itself and create maintenance problems. Also, the wastes can dry and blow off the tank, town residents have complained.
Shooing is not effective and shooting is prohibited because the birds are a protected species. Remember, they are useful in cleaning up roadkill and other carrion.
The City of Raleigh Public Utilities Department has a solution – a dead stuffed turkey vulture provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Robert Massengill with the utilities department said vulture effigies have been successful on a Knightdale water tank and they plan to use another one in Wendell.
