{"id":735210,"date":"2026-06-30T17:12:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T17:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/735210\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T17:12:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T17:12:17","slug":"black-vultures-wreak-havoc-across-us-as-droppings-coat-homes-cars-and-sidewalks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/735210\/","title":{"rendered":"Black vultures wreak havoc across US as droppings coat homes, cars and sidewalks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Black vultures are increasingly invading neighborhoods across the United States, bringing foul-smelling droppings,\u00a0property damage<\/a>\u00a0and outrage among residents, according to a new report.<\/p>\n

Hillsborough,\u00a0North Carolina\u00a0has been ground zero, with countless complaints about the droppings, The Wall Street Journal reported.<\/p>\n

The problem is more widespread, however. Black vultures have pushed farther north in recent years, with growing numbers fueling complaints over property damage, livestock attacks and other conflicts, according to the University of Georgia\u2019s Kohl Wildlife Lab.<\/p>\n

Experts say warmer winters, easy food sources, and the birds\u2019 ability to thrive around people have all likely contributed to the expansion.<\/p>\n

Bryan Watts, director of the Center for Conservation Biology at William & Mary, told Fox News Digital that feeding vultures can attract unexpectedly large numbers of\u00a0birds.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cFeeding vultures can attract a following of hundreds \u2014 and more importantly, can create a bond to the site that is very hard to break,\u201d Watts said.<\/p>\n

The phenomenon is not limited to residential neighborhoods, he noted. Vultures are often around landfills, community dumpsters and boat ramps where food is readily available.<\/p>\n

Black vultures are invading US neighborhoods, causing property damage and outrage among residents. Town of Hillsborough, North Carolina<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce the birds are fixed to the site, they will often spend large amounts of time loafing,\u201d Watts said.<\/p>\n

While vultures provide an important environmental service by\u00a0consuming animal carcasses<\/a>\u00a0and other decaying material, their presence can create challenges when large groups gather in one place.<\/p>\n

Black vultures have been known to\u00a0damage property, according to Watts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are attracted to other materials like windshield wipers and car trim, parts of house roofs \u2026 and they will damage those,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n

The birds can also behave aggressively toward\u00a0pets\u00a0and livestock.<\/p>\n

Warmer winters and easy food sources are fueling the birds\u2019 northern expansion, leading to more complaints. MariannePfeil \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

Complaints from residents have included reports of droppings accumulating on homes, vehicles, sidewalks and driveways. Some have described the vultures\u2019 waste as foul-smelling and capable of damaging surfaces over time, according to The Wall Street Journal.<\/p>\n

The issue has sparked debate online, as many commenters have defended the birds despite the complaints.<\/p>\n

\u201cVultures are incredibly important,\u201d one Reddit user wrote. \u201cThey are nature\u2019s cleanup crew, and they help keep the world from becoming a much nastier place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others argue that vultures often gather in residential areas even when nobody is feeding them.<\/p>\n

Despite complaints, online commenters defend vultures as \u201cnature\u2019s cleanup crew\u201d for their ecosystem role. Town of Hillsborough, North Carolina<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a ton of vultures living in the pine trees behind our house in\u00a0South Carolina,\u201d another commenter wrote. \u201cNone of us feed them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some commenters took a middle-ground position, saying vultures play an important role in the ecosystem but that intentionally feeding wildlife can create problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cVultures are amazing animals,\u201d one user wrote. \u201cAll that said, [people] should not be feeding them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fox News Digital reached out to the town of Hillsborough for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Black vultures are increasingly invading neighborhoods across the United States, bringing foul-smelling droppings,\u00a0property damage\u00a0and outrage among residents, according…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":735211,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[1147,7223,36255,2256,1170,79,201],"class_list":["post-735210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-animals","tag-birds","tag-neighbors","tag-north-carolina","tag-real-estate","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=735210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735210\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/735211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=735210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=735210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=735210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}