Aggressive vultures have been damaging homes and property in Staten Island neighborhood, residents say
NEW YORK -- A growing number of black vultures circling a Staten Island neighborhood have residents concerned.
They tell CBS2's Astrid Martinez the aggressive birds are more than just a nuisance.
Staten Island resident Mike Illuzzi was out on his front yard, hose in hand, but he wasn't watering his lawn.
"This is how I get rid of them," he said.
He's desperately trying to get rid of some new neighbors invading his neighborhood
"I have no idea where they came from. This is new for us," he said.
For nearly two months, black vultures have been seen on a daily basis, causing damage to some homes and property.
"Well, my neighbor noticed. She called me out, she says, 'They're on your roof, ripping the, eating the roof tiles.' So I went out and I just sprayed them with the hose, and they flew away," Illuzzi said.
But as time went on, the birds started coming around more often and became less timid.
"So we were seeing them at a distance back there. Then they started getting closer, and then they started really feeling comfortable on all of our roofs over here," neighbor Deena Tomasoulo said.
Tomasoulo, who has lived in the Midland Beach area for more than 40 years, is now nervous when her small pets are outside.
"They would just stare at all the animals, like, that they would see walking around, so it started getting a little freaky, you know. We were scared for the animals," she said.
Black vultures are fairly large scavengers, measuring 2-and-a-half feet tall with a wing span of up to 5 feet. Experts say they look more intimidating than they really are and reports of them of preying on live animals are relatively unheard-of.
"They're not geared to killing, like a hawk or an owl would be, where they grasp and kill. They will come down and just eat mostly roadkill," said Don Riepe, with the Jamaica Bay American Littoral Society.
Black vultures are federally protected creatures, which prohibits capturing or killing them. Harming them can result in a fine up to $15,000 and six months in prison.
If the bird becomes nuisance, people can call the Department of Environmental Conservation. In the meantime, it's perfectly legal to scare them away, just like Illuzzi has been doing now for the past two months.
Riepe says we can expect to see a lot more of this traditionally southern bird in our area due to milder winters.