BELLA VISTA — Look. Up in the Sky. It’s not a place and it’s not Superman. It’s a bird. Or, rather, it’s birds.

You see them flying overhead every day. Soaring on updrafts, seldom flapping their wings. Swooping in graceful arcs across the sky. Silently patrolling.

They’re vultures.

We commonly call them buzzards and they are common throughout the area. So common, in fact, they can become a nuisance, particularly if they choose the trees in your yard as roosting sites. This is a habit they sometimes develop, finding a roosting site and using it night, after night, after night.

There are two common types of vultures in the Ozark region: Turkey Vultures and Black Vultures.

Both species live primarily on carrion (dead animals) which they locate with a keen sense of smell.

They have no feathers on their heads which helps the birds keep clean while feeding.

Turkey Vultures

Although they are large - the turkey vulture has a wingspan up to 70 inches;

the smaller black vulture’s wingspan can reach more than 50 inches - they are graceful birds as they soar at varying heights while locating their next meal.

Interestingly they do not have a melodious songbird method of communicating. They hiss and grunt.

And they nest and roost in sheltered areas such as caves or along bluffs.

Sometimes the large birds roost in a protective wooded area where they can become a nuisance and possibly a health hazard.

Turkey vultures, which are more common locally, have large black bodies topped with a small, red naked head. Soaring they are identified by their side to side movement, while holding their wings in a V-position. They utilize air currents and sometimes they seem to soar continuously without any wing movement. They are seen locally year around.

Black Vultures

Black vultures’ heads are black, not red, and, although they have a similar silhouette in the sky, they fly higher than turkey vultures and flap their wings more often thantheir cousins. They winter mostly in the subtropics but sometimes nest as far north as the Ozark region.

One buzzard roosting site is located along Butler Creek north of the Arkansas-Missouri State line.

And some areas in Bella Vista are roosting locations. Scaring the birds from the sites is generally unsuccessful.

Because Bella Vista prohibits the discharge of firearms within the city limits, a special 10-day permit is available if approved by the City Council.

At its recent meeting the Council approved a permit for one Bella Vista resident to use a firearm in an attempt to disperse the buzzards/vultures from his property.

News, Pages 11 on 07/14/2010