Why are there so many vultures over the BP Campus in West Houston?
March 16, 2018 6:41 AM Subscribe
Almost every day I see dozens (like 50+) of vultures over the BP Campus in the Houston's Energy Corridor (near I-10 and Highway 6). Why are they always there, just circling and circling?
There can't be roadkill in the same location every single day. I usually see them when I am leaving work around 4 or 5 in the afternoon.
I searched about it and found a couple of videos but no explanation. This video implies that the BP campus is just their "home," but why?
There is a nature preserve just north of the freeway with lots of birds and wildlife. But the vultures are always very specifically above the BP Campus. They have been around since well before Hurricane Harvey.
There can't be roadkill in the same location every single day. I usually see them when I am leaving work around 4 or 5 in the afternoon.
I searched about it and found a couple of videos but no explanation. This video implies that the BP campus is just their "home," but why?
There is a nature preserve just north of the freeway with lots of birds and wildlife. But the vultures are always very specifically above the BP Campus. They have been around since well before Hurricane Harvey.
Response by poster: Pretty sure they aren't doing any thing with natural gas production at this location. It is the BP headquarters- an office park.
posted by jschu at 7:10 AM on March 16, 2018
posted by jschu at 7:10 AM on March 16, 2018
I've seen them, too. Perhaps they've just *learned* that the confluence of freeways produces meals for them on the regular?
I'm pretty sure it's NOT meant as an editorial comment on BP generally, but it sure would be nice if it was.
posted by uberchet at 7:12 AM on March 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
I'm pretty sure it's NOT meant as an editorial comment on BP generally, but it sure would be nice if it was.
posted by uberchet at 7:12 AM on March 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
They're probably there because that's where the thermals are -- vultures don't directly circle above carrion or prey, they follow the air currents to conserve their energy and stay aloft, scanning a wide area, and thermal columns are useful for this. They're produced by solar radiation warming the ground, so if the complex has lots of flat roofs or paved parking lots, the resultant convection could be giving the birds a nice ride.
posted by halation at 7:22 AM on March 16, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by halation at 7:22 AM on March 16, 2018 [14 favorites]
Response by poster: Not totally clear on the difference between buzzards and vultures, but I believe these are either black vultures or turkey vultures.
posted by jschu at 7:31 AM on March 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by jschu at 7:31 AM on March 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Communal roosting is normal for vultures. I lived in a neighborhood where dozens of vultures roosted in one yard for no apparent reason, it was just their spot. They like the same things any suburbanite likes, a safe neighborhood, open space, good roads and access to fine dining.
posted by peeedro at 7:53 AM on March 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by peeedro at 7:53 AM on March 16, 2018 [11 favorites]
Looking at a map, BP is kinda sandwiched between the two big open reservoir areas. Could be a combination of high ground/tallest buildings around, and unique effects from a thin built-up area in between two possible hunting areas.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 8:10 AM on March 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Huffy Puffy at 8:10 AM on March 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
> Vultures!? Are you sure it's not buzzards?
In North America, the terms are used interchangeably for these carrion-eaters with unfeathered heads.
Agree with everyone else that this is just their roosting spot, which they chose for the reasons above.
posted by rtha at 8:17 AM on March 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
In North America, the terms are used interchangeably for these carrion-eaters with unfeathered heads.
Agree with everyone else that this is just their roosting spot, which they chose for the reasons above.
posted by rtha at 8:17 AM on March 16, 2018 [4 favorites]
Also, they are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, so if BP found them to be a nuisance it would cost money to hire specialist and get permits to mitigate the problem (the first step is using pyrotechnics to discourage them from landing). So it could be that BP is cheap, or it could be they know that the vultures provide a valuable service to the community and are being good neighbors.
posted by peeedro at 8:24 AM on March 16, 2018
posted by peeedro at 8:24 AM on March 16, 2018
All the vultures in my little town (both black and turkey) hang out on the water tower. When they are migrating (right now they're coming back from a bit farther south) and there are more than usual, they spill over into the trees across the street. Last summer, a fawn was hit by a car right next to the water tower and it was like someone brought the party to them. But usually they disperse during the day and you see them all over town and in the surrounding skies.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 8:25 AM on March 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Lawn Beaver at 8:25 AM on March 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I've been to the BP campus dozens of times - and it is nothing but an office park, and other businesses there as well. Not only do they hang out there, they hang out in a very specific area on the campus - the little park area at the intersection of Grisby & Westlake Blvd. The area they hang out on is a very large water feature with lots of trees, and the water feature itself is full of other wildlife, particularly ducks. A LOT of ducks. They're a real nuisance, actually, and there are a lot of warning signs about ducks crossing the road, which people who drive through there regularly know about but others may not. . . let's just say every spring, there are duck babies, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of ducklings by August.
Anyway, I asked about it once, and was told they'd been there pretty much as long as the campus has, which has been for at least over a decade. Turkey cultures are legally protected under the Migratory Birds Act, which prohibits certain actions against them, so they're left alone. It seems like they just really like that spot, and why not? Trees to hang out in, one of the tallest buildings in the area - they really like the window ledges on the tallest BP building there, which could be like a really tall rock face that isn't all glass - the Bear Creek reservoir nearby with probably lots of good scavenging in the open spaces, thermals -who knows what kind of thermals the interstate produces being that close to the - and a duck buffet. I could also imagine that due to the building configuration with the buildings nearby it could also be warm when they want it warm and cool when they don't due to the shadows.
posted by barchan at 8:25 AM on March 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
Anyway, I asked about it once, and was told they'd been there pretty much as long as the campus has, which has been for at least over a decade. Turkey cultures are legally protected under the Migratory Birds Act, which prohibits certain actions against them, so they're left alone. It seems like they just really like that spot, and why not? Trees to hang out in, one of the tallest buildings in the area - they really like the window ledges on the tallest BP building there, which could be like a really tall rock face that isn't all glass - the Bear Creek reservoir nearby with probably lots of good scavenging in the open spaces, thermals -who knows what kind of thermals the interstate produces being that close to the - and a duck buffet. I could also imagine that due to the building configuration with the buildings nearby it could also be warm when they want it warm and cool when they don't due to the shadows.
posted by barchan at 8:25 AM on March 16, 2018 [8 favorites]
seconding halation's thermal comment. On a still day with just a few clouds, look at the sky where the birds are wheeling: is there a cloud above? Thermals and high points combine to form clouds, and those big birds will take all the free lift they can get.
posted by scruss at 9:39 AM on March 16, 2018
posted by scruss at 9:39 AM on March 16, 2018
Echoing barchan, I lived in that area even before the office park was built (moved there in 1990), and they were always there. They used to actually land on Eldridge or Dairy Ashford occasionally, and once and a while you would hear stories of someone hitting one. This was back in the day when cows would occasionally wander into the road too, good times.
posted by backwards compatible at 11:06 AM on March 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by backwards compatible at 11:06 AM on March 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
This is making me smile today, barchan, thank you :D
Turkey cultures are legally protected under the Migratory Birds Act
posted by fiercecupcake at 11:29 AM on March 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Turkey cultures are legally protected under the Migratory Birds Act
posted by fiercecupcake at 11:29 AM on March 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
I also think it's the heat from the roads/roofs; turkey vultures are often found above nice warm roads, especially if they're in proximity to roosting areas.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:16 PM on March 16, 2018
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:16 PM on March 16, 2018
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