Buzzard Day at Hinckley Ridge in Ohio was established on March 15, 1957, after it was observed that the buzzards always seemed to return on March 15. Residents watch the sky expectantly at Buzzard Roost on the Hinckley Reservation, which is Cleveland Metroparks land. All's well when the official Buzzard Spotter announces that the birds have indeed returned. A celebration follows the next Sunday which is designated as Buzzard Sunday. Several thousand people are usually in attendance for this arts and crafts show and pancake breakfast.
Why would Buzzards keep coming back to Hinckley? Tradition holds that they took a liking to this area after what is known as "The Great Hinckley Hunt of 1818." The town of Hinckley was named for Judge Hinckley of Northampton, Massachusets, who owned three townships in Ohio. The Great Hinckley Hunt was a roundup of wild animals from Judge Hinckley's land in order to end their raids upon the surrounding settlers' farms. On December 24, 1818, several hundred hunters surrounded Judge Hinckley's woods and converged upon the trapped animals. The hunters killed a large number of deer, bears, wolves, turkeys, foxes and raccoons. Animal carcasses that were not used for food were left and froze over the winter, providing the buzzards with a feast the next spring.
At first sight, one wonders why anyone would celebrate such an ugly fowl. However, after researching them for this article, I have become totally fascinated by this misunderstood bird.
The official name of the buzzard is the Turkey Vulture, and they are large black birds weighing about four to six pounds. They have six-foot wingspans and can be seen riding thermals, searching for their next meal, where they can soar for hours without flapping their wings. The turkey vulture's head is featherless and red and seemingly small compared to its body. It is one of the few birds with a sense of smell, enabling it to find road kill and other dead animals. This is a most necessary skill for it has neither the strength in its claws to kill nor the shape of the beak to tear into a fresh carcass.
The Cherokee Indians have given the bird the title of "Peace Eagle" because it does not kill. However, the bird's digestive system does have the ability to kill any virus and bacteria in the food it eats. Therefore, its droppings do not carry disease. As a result, the Turkey Vulture does us a great service in sanitizing the land for if dead carcasses were left to rot, the possibility of the spread of disease is very real. This unique ability of the Turkey Vulture's digestive system is being studied for use in the event of biological warfare, acts of terrorism or worldwide epidemics.
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