Vultures by the hundreds have taken to nighttime roosting in various Mount Gretna neighborhoods since 1989. But numbers have grown in re-cent years, residents say. They arrive in October and November and stay into March, when they disappear until the next autumn. Ancient birds, vultures are on few people's favorite bird lists. No one hangs out rotting meat on their bird feeders to attract them.
Vultures eat mainly dead or dying animals.
They have bald heads so they can reach into carcasses without soiling their plumage. They often regurgitate partially digested food and have special digestive processes that enable them to eat decomposed food. Turkey vultures locate carrion by smell, the smaller black vultures by sight. Both vultures are regulars in southeastern Pennsylvania, but numbers swell with winter migrants. No one is sure why the vultures have settled in Mount Gretna, although it apparently isn't for the arts.