Date: 1/25/26 1:38 pm From: Pam Hunt <biodiva63...> Subject: Re: [NHBirds] Vultures at Hurd Farm in Hampton
Rumor has it there was a fire at some farm in Hampton and there were a
bunch of dead turkeys.
Pam Hunt, Concord
On Sun, Jan 25, 2026, 3:04 PM Ducky Darrick <dadams...> wrote:
> I\nWonder if they are eating dead fish that wash up on the beaches
>
> On Sun, Jan 25, 2026, 10:12 AM 'Steve Mirick' via NHBirds <
> <nhbirds...> wrote:
>
>> The winter (December-January) Vulture roost has been a remarkable annual
>> event in Rockingham County. My earliest record for this roost dates
>> back to the winter of 2006-2007 when they were spending the night in
>> pine trees near downtown Newmarket. Prior to this, Vultures in
>> mid-winter were very rare. Since then, the roost was reported off and
>> on in Newmarket, but it shifted into Exeter and has been there at least
>> since the winter of 2015-2016. These roosts have grown in numbers over
>> the years and my personal maximum count is 80 on 1/14/24. There have
>> been a couple of distinct locations where these birds have roosted in
>> tall white pine trees off Linden Street and off Rt. 27 in Exeter.
>>
>> This winter, they seemed to have vanished from the Exeter roost spots
>> with very few or no Vultures present. Had they left for roosts further
>> south in this frigid winter?!?! Apparently not! The Vultures have
>> apparently shifted over to the Hurd Farm in Hampton. We first observed
>> 16 here two weeks ago. Then we saw a report of 40 Turkey Vultures (with
>> 2 Black Vultures!) by Susan Wrisley and Jenna Rosen two days ago!
>>
>> So Jane and I drove over there yesterday and were astonished to see a
>> whirlwind of Vultures flying around us (with Bald Eagles and a Raven) at
>> about 11:30 AM! It was crazy with birds. I pulled over and looked up
>> and saw an astonishing group of 9 (!!!) Black Vultures. A personal high
>> count for me and possibly a record high count for NH. The Blacks and a
>> group of Turkey Vultures circled above us through the trees and
>> incredibly vanished with 5 minutes, drifting with the strong NW winds.
>> Another big group of 43 (counted) Turkey Vultures settled down and
>> landed on the ground and low in the trees to the south of the farm. I
>> wonder if there is some carrion in this area that has sustained them.
>>
>> We returned late in the afternoon and the Vultures (smaller numbers)
>> were seen settling into the tall white pines to spend the evening on the
>> opposite side of the Taylor River from Hurd Farm in Hampton Falls. Here
>> we had at least 4 Black Vultures settling in with the Turkey Vultures.
>>
>> So.....it appears that the Vultures have found a new favorite spot! At
>> least for now. Here's a photo of one of the Black Vultures from
>> yesterday:
>>
>>
>> https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevemirick/55059344345/in/photostream/lightbox/ >>
>> Steve Mirick
>> Bradford, MA
>>
>> --
>> To Change your e-mail delivery settings (digest, daily, no mail) visit:
>> https://groups.google.com/group/nhbirds/subscribe?hl=en >> ---
>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
>> "NHBirds" group.
>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
>> email to nhbirds+<unsubscribe...>
>> To view this discussion visit
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/nhbirds/<f1481f21-030a-47ad-90cb-9b7cc2d7d657...> >> .
>>
> --
> To Change your e-mail delivery settings (digest, daily, no mail) visit:
> https://groups.google.com/group/nhbirds/subscribe?hl=en > ---
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "NHBirds" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
> email to nhbirds+<unsubscribe...>
> To view this discussion visit
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/nhbirds/CALwzOSeAy7Ro_pY%3D%3Dx6nCfrA9Fgw%<3Dk-x2Gv8XLv4fYpMvKnC5A...> > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/nhbirds/CALwzOSeAy7Ro_pY%3D%3Dx6nCfrA9Fgw%<3Dk-x2Gv8XLv4fYpMvKnC5A...>?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > .
>
