Resident Turkey Vultures Get New Exhibit at California Raptor Center

The three resident turkey vultures at the California Raptor Center (CRC) got new digs this summer! Thanks to a generous grant from the McBeth Foundation, the center staff worked with the cage design company Corners Limited, Inc. to design an exhibit to house Juliet (28+ years old, wing injury) and Merry and Pippin (3-year-old siblings, human imprinted). The cage was installed in July 2021. 

The exhibit features two chambers: a smaller space to house Juliet and a larger flight space for the two siblings. The design allows the vultures to have visual contact with each other without direct contact, which is important for their safety and well-being. Turkey vultures are highly social, but Juliet showed some aggressive behavior toward the siblings in the past, so the center wanted to let her have her own space from which she could watch, but not touch the other two birds.

The new vulture exhibit is near the front of the CRC, along the main visitor path. It seems to be quite popular with visitors! The vultures are always visible and often engage in interesting behaviors (sunning, flying, interacting with each other, exploring their environment). Sometimes visitors might be lucky enough to see volunteers doing training sessions with the vultures. The CRC's volunteers also did an amazing job designing the interior of the exhibit, equipping it with ample natural perching surfaces.

For visiting hours and more information.