A tale of two birds

Kyle Van Der Hyde has good reason to be concerned. Vultures have moved into the trees near his Peach Street home in Chatham. His dog has been attacked and he fears that one of his children might be next.

“I counted 53 of them one year,” Van Der Hyde said. “… I’d like to see the USDA run them off.”

The town of Chatham will spend $3,000 for a U.S. Department of Agriculture vulture eradication program that will include killing some of the most aggressive black vultures and putting their carcasses in the trees to scare off others.

Hopefully, the vultures will get the message that they’re not welcome in Chatham and move on.

In Danville, the latest avian news is the ongoing effort to restore the Eastern Bluebird population. Bluebird lovers have worked hard to spread the word about the best practices to entice and support bluebirds, including birdhouse designs and predator control.

Bluebird houses have been placed in local parks and on public school campuses. Local members of the Virginia Bluebird Society have also initiated an innovative adopt-a-box program. For the upcoming nesting season, 174 bluebird boxes will be on public land — along with countless more on private property.

Vultures, bluebirds and all the rest of God’s creatures interact in ways that mere mortals cannot comprehend.

But we can understand that small children and family pets — not to mention cattle and other domesticated livestock — should not be put at risk because of a predatory bird that doesn’t belong near human settlements.

For that matter, we can understand that past human mistakes have threatened native species such as the Eastern Bluebird.

Bluebirds would definitely win any beauty contest against vultures, but both creatures have important roles to play in the web of life. No doubt the vultures that are about to be pushed out of Chatham won’t have to go far to find places where they can live without coming into contact with such touchy creatures as human beings. Meanwhile, the bluebirds will be glad for the efforts of those same humans to give them an edge against competitive but non-native species.

Chatham’s vultures will be better off without us. As for the Dan River Region’s bluebirds, they appear to need us more than ever. We’re lucky to be able to help.