As dusk began to settle in, high up in the air two birds gently circled. Suddenly more and more birds wheeled and careened in the clear blue sky over Fort Jackson until the sky was filled with red-headed turkey vultures and the coal-grey black vultures floating down to into the woods for the night.
BLAAM! Whoosh! The skies suddenly cleared.
The birds weren't being hunted, but rather frightened away through light and sound harassment as Fort Jackson and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials began using nonlethal means to disperse vultures from roosting sites near on-post housing Feb. 29.
The birds had been flocking to roost sites in the woods behind the NCO Club until nearly 100 were fighting for the best spots to sleep the night away.
While they play an important part of South Carolina's ecosystem, vultures can cause problems when their numbers become too great around inhabited areas.
"They usually roost in areas where there is very little human conflict, but this roost site happens to be right on the edge of a housing area and adjacent to the NCO club," said Doug Morrow, chief of the Directorate of Public Work's wildlife branch in the environmental division.
Their behaviors caused concern because the birds were damaging cars and buildings, perching on homes and children's playground equipment, digging into trash and intimidating kids and pets.
"We never saw them before the floods," said Patricia Orders, the mayor for Pierce Terrace 3 housing area. Since then "we woke up with them everywhere."
People would come out of their houses in the morning to find the large birds sitting on top of their houses watching intently while the morning sun dried off their feathers.
"It's a little disturbing," Orders said about seeing the vultures. "My main concern as a parent is the health of my kids, so I don't want them on the playgrounds or having to deal with them."
Residents became worried because the birds were getting into the trash, covering the playgrounds and intimidating the animals.
"Kids are terrified of them," she added. "They don't want to go anywhere near them probably because of their size. I have a 5-year-old who is only about 39 pounds and about this tall -- they are huge to her."
Vultures were not only scaring kids, but their droppings were covering playground equipment causing potential health problems.
The USDA found accumulations of vulture droppings to be corrosive, have offensive odors, create a white wash effect and could pose health concerns.
Playground equipment was also being damaged by the droppings forcing officials to repaint and sanitize them.
The birds also were creating havoc to buildings such as the NCO Club and to nearby cars.
"Vultures have started destroying the man-made structures on the roof such as the vinyl boots around the drain pipe leading through the roof," Morrow said. This allowed rainwater "to pass through the boots and damage the building. "
"They would also damage cars by scratching them and tearing up windshield wiper blades," said Noel Myers, with the USDA. "Black vultures in particular will also kill livestock."
While black vultures have been known to have predatory instincts, they usually scavenge for food unless food sources are gone.
Fort Jackson is home to both turkey and black vultures. Turkey vultures are larger than black vultures and have red featherless heads and are known to have a better sense of smell. Black vultures are known to follow turkey vultures to a fresh carcass. Both species roost in the same areas.
The vultures can appear to dive at a person, but it is just how the bird takes flight, the officials said.
Once the significance of the damage was assessed, Morrow called the USDA for assistance. This is the first time Fort Jackson and the USDA collaborated in moving vultures.
The plan is to harass the birds through the "use of pyrotechnics, basically firecrackers as well as lasers called 'Alien Persuaders' that are used in low-light," Myers said.
The USDA also hung dead vultures from off post in the roost sites to further deter the animals from coming back.
"We are not trying to harm them or anything like that," he added. "We are trying to reduce that problem."
The USDA has used these nonlethal controls in many different parts of the state to include around airports. Vultures aren't just a problem at Fort Jackson, they are the number one complaint the USDA Wildlife Branch gets in South Carolina.
As federal agencies, Fort Jackson and the USDA are looking at the overall impact the program can have on the environment.
The plan to scare the vultures away started in the evening because the birds go to roosting sites to sleep before venturing out the next morning to scavenge individually for food.
As the sun slowly sank over the horizon, Myers and his team surrounded the roost site on three sides and whenever the vultures swooped in they would launch the pyrotechnics out of specially-made flare guns. The team waited until dusk because they wanted to ensure the birds would be able to find an alternate roost site.
The USDA and Fort Jackson will continue to monitor the roost sites and continue to harass the birds if necessary.
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