Fayette County Lake vehicle damage warning ⚠️

[Nickstanislaus]

Went to fayette county lake December 22. Beware that the turkey vultures out there will tear your vehicle up. Every vehicle in the boat Ram parking lot that day was destroyed. Talked to three other people before leaving and their vehicles were tore up. One guy says his has been destroyed three other times. The gate house staff know it’s a known problem but have no warnings or info on it. They try and chase them off when they see them but damage is already done. Pictures below only shows half the damage. Tore up every seal and rubber they could get to. Already called dodge and just for the parts will be over $1,000. One picture is my sunroof. Dodge told he just to replace the seal it would be $600 for the seal and labor. I’m looking at $2,500 to $3,000 in repairs for the damage.

72EF7486-6506-4F3E-995E-3C8A9997551F.jpegD4B6AA9C-48D1-4E25-AF5C-B6B25843D80C.jpegB871C739-D8C4-4543-9FEE-EC6F650A0D93.jpeg7F21D412-2A0E-4AE8-81E0-B3AF90925A5D.jpeg

[ToledoBendChamp]

Were you at Oak Thicket or Park Prairie?

[CatFan]

Likely not turkey vultures. Black vultures are the nasty bastards that attack windshield trim.

[Nickstanislaus]

Park prairie. Gate house said oak thicket was better but says they are still over there too. Turkey vulture or black vulture doesn’t really matter to me at this point. Always fun having a brand new $85k truck destroyed by birds.

[fishnfireman]

Never heard of this before.

[Nickstanislaus]

Never heard of this before.

Me either. Just stopped by Top Tier Tackle in Conroe. Talked with a guy that was there yesterday and his truck got tore up too. They ate some rubber seals and chewed on his bed cover.

[ToledoBendChamp]

Been going on there for years. It's always worse at Park Prairie. The old lady at Oak Thicket keeps them away pretty good. Lots of guys cover their truck with a boat cover when leaving.

They are buzzards that hang around because all the "migrants" clean Tilapia they catch at the boat ramp. If they did away with that, no more buzzards.

[fishnfireman]

Should be grounds for open season - no limit.

[CatFan]

Never heard of this before.

They’ve been moving north for years. They’ll kill a calf while it’s being born or soon after. They eat the eyes first so the rest is easier. Nasty!

[tomloans]

How about a car cover or some sort of repellent. This is the craziest thing I have ever read. Not from Texas. Are they eating the rubber seals?

[Nickstanislaus]

How about a car cover or some sort of repellent. This is the craziest thing I have ever read. Not from Texas. Are they eating the rubber seals?

door seals, sunroof seals, windshield wipers, bed covers. anything that's rubber or soft on a vehicle. Trust me never heard of this ever before either.

[fishnfireman]

Does anyone know for sure what birds are doing this?
We have several different buzzard/vultures around here.

[CatFan]

Does anyone know for sure what birds are doing this?
We have several different buzzard/vultures around here.

Black vultures. They are widely know for attacking the seals on vehicles and buildings. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_vulture

No red head and they like to stand in the sun with their wings spread. They have a relatively poor sense of smell so they sometimes follow Turkey vultures to carrion and steal the food. Like Turkey vultures’no-good brothers-in-laws.

[JohnnyO]

I would submit an insurance claim

[Nickstanislaus]

I would submit an insurance claim

My insurance is covering it. $1400 just in parts.

[fishnfireman]

Black vultures. They are widely know for attacking the seals on vehicles and buildings. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_vulture

No red head and they like to stand in the sun with their wings spread. They have a relatively poor sense of smell so they sometimes follow Turkey vultures to carrion and steal the food. Like Turkey vultures’no-good brothers-in-laws.

have not noticed any up here in the Panhandle but pretty sure I've seen them Down on the border around Lake Amistad. I guess there's enough roadkill down there they haven't taken to eating off our truck parts.

[adchunts]

Saw a truck at Belton Lakeview Park last weekend that had white plastic trash bags rolled up in every window, including the rear slider. Bags would flutter and make noise when the wind blew. I am thinking he did it to discourage buzzards. Seems like a good idea.

[tcesni]

Never heard of this before.

More common than you might think, there have been similar reports where I live in Virginia.

[Phoenix 920 Pro XP]

my buddy had his trim eaten by buzzards at a lake around the waco area

[squib]

Super common down there. They will also destroy a paint job by walking around on the paint with those nasty claws while eating the trim.