Editor’s Column: The buzzard battle

To my dismay, the turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) have returned to roost in one of the trees

in our yard.
Why is this a problem? Besides the fact that they make the yard stink, send my dog into barking fits and make me wonder if someone is hiding dead bodies nearby? My biggest concern is that they’re harmful to trees. Most of the trees in my neighborhood are century-old evergreens and cottonwoods. I’ll…