'Birds perched like statues' on Columbus apartment roof raise questions

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Some interesting bird behavior intrigued a woman living near Quarry Trails Metro Park.

Chelsea Giesken recently posted pictures on social media of three large birds of prey perched on the roof of her apartment building with their wings outstretched.

"Hello neighbors! I’m curious to see if anyone knows what this means?" she wrote in the caption. "There are 3 vulture looking birds perched like statues at my apartment. They don’t move at all and keep their wings extended."

Some commenters hypothesized the animals were actually statues meant to prevent birds from nesting.

"if they are still there right now and in the same position then they are statues to prevent birds from nesting in those vents they are placed on," offered one neighbor in the comments. "if you look around on top of bigger buildings or those billboards you will see owl statues. They also are used to stop birds from nesting. They are basically bird-shaped scarecrows."

Others guessed they were indeed real and were either turkey or black vultures.

"Turkey vultures in what is called their Heraldic pose and yes it's to dry out their wings," one commenter wrote. "They are ugly to look at except when they take flight and soar in the sky quite majestically. They are not aggressive and are helpful in cleaning up nature's garbage (dead stuff)."

William Babb with the Division of Wildlife confirmed the pictures appeared to be of turkey vultures. In an email, Babb said this behavior is usually seen when the birds are "drying their wings or warming up in the morning."

Giesken said she watched the group of birds, known as a committee, for about five minutes outside her apartment during the late afternoon. She added that about an hour later when her boyfriend returned home, the vultures were no longer on the roof.

On its website, ODNR describes the birds as "large" with a six-foot wingspan, so the sight of the three expanding their wings must have been impressive to see in person.

Other information on the agency's site about the scavengers included that they appear bald but have many small feathers on their head to keep them clean when feasting on dead animals. Also, adults have heads that are bright red, while young vultures have heads that are black.

In flight, turkey vultures can be distinguished from hawks and crows by their extensive soaring and distinctive broad "V" wing formation. At night, they often gather in large roosts. Their preferred habitats are deciduous forests and woodlands, and they primarily feed on carrion.

Additionally, turkey vultures are listed by ODNR as a "fairly common summer resident in Ohio."