OTV Proceeds as Planned, Sort Of

With the target having been successfully acquired and transported back to the Home Base, it was now time to deploy it.  More negotiations were required, this time with the Base Manager.  It was hoped that the prime Spot of Deposition might be utilized, located at the very base of the bird feeder to which the vultures were going to be attracted.  These negotiations were not entirely successful, and so the target was relegated to the far corner of the yard.

The next phase of OTV, Getting a Turkey Vulture’s Attention, is still underway.  It is now Day 3, and it seems this phase might not be as simple as first thought.  So far the chief respondents seem to be flies and some unknown predator that comes during the night.  The target has been considerably diminished from these nocturnal forays, so it may be that its effectiveness has been significantly compromised.   This is something of set back, but we are not giving up yet.

Should the target fail to evoke the desired response, alternative plans are being considered.  It is not thought at this time that an additional deer will be acquired.  Perhaps some smaller road kill, such as rabbits or raccoons, tossed up on the roof?

Another angle would be to find road kill on which vultures are already feeding.  The team might then take the codeine tablets remaining from when my youngest daughter had her teeth pulled and insert them accordingly. Once the vultures collapsed in a drugged stupor they could be captured, transported back to Home Base, and then propped up for photographs.

A final suggestion has been to dress the cats up like vultures, set them on the bird feeder with the diminished remains, and take photographs accordingly.  While this is a rather intriguing suggestion with some significant challenges of its own, it was not felt that this falls within the desired operational parameters.

Comments

[coral]

I like the dress up the cats idea - a lot, I am actually laughing here!

[jan]

A prickly person would suggest that instead of dressing the cats up as birds, you "dress" them up as the bait... :)