Gliding across Arlington's skies, you may see two different types of Vultures that are native to North Texas, the Black Vulture and the Turkey Vulture. Both species of vultures are protected under Federal Law and Texas State Statute through the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.
Turkey Vultures have a very heightened sense of smell. Many times, the Turkey Vulture will find the food, and the Black Vulture will come in to share.
Vultures feed on carrion and are a very important part of Arlington's wild ecosystem. Decaying deceased animals not only are sad to see, but also create smell and possible disease. Deceased animals attract flies/maggots. Without vultures, flies and disease in Arlington would increase tremendously.
In some rural areas, vultures help farmers with the removal of deceased livestock. In short, vultures help keep Arlington smelling good!
When vultures roost together, they can create issues for residents. Damage to vehicles, damage to roof tops, vehicular strikes, and being too close to plane routes. When they are roosting together, they also may create an unpleasant smell from vomit and feces.
To prevent vultures from finding your residence an appealing place to go, it is very important to keep trash picked up, remove any deceased animals, and do not feed wild or domestic animals outside.
Map of Bird Sightings in Arlington
Click on the arrow to view the legend and scroll in to view an area of interest for locations of reported Vulture sightings.
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(Scroll down to the Wildlife Sighting selection in the application to report your sighting.)