Capistrano Has the Swallows; We Have the Buzzards!

On March 19th of every year, the Feast of St. Joseph, the swallows return from their winter roosting grounds in Argentina to the mission of San Juan Capistrano.

In Northeast Ohio, on the Feast of the Buzzard, March 15th, the buzzards return to Hinckley, Ohio. San Juan Capistrano has the swallows; we have the buzzards or turkey vultures--and we celebrate them!

You can have your stinkin' swallows, California. Give me cathartes aura, the turkey vulture--our local buzzard.

p.s. I remembered a poem published in the Plain Dealer a long time ago--possibly in the 1960s--on the return of the buzzards. I think it's the same poem just published in a blog called www.roadfood.com. Here's a portion of their March 15, 2012 posting:

"The buzzards of Hinckley
Are back on their ledges
All ugly and wrinkly,
Their eyes glowing pinkly,
They perch on the hedges,
Their feathers unruly,
Their beaks dripping cruelly,
Repulsive and drooly,
Their claws bloody wedges
With flesh on the edges . . .

Those are the words of Joe Newman, as he tells the tale of the annual return of these birds of prey to Hinckley, OH. "

The image below is from this we3bsite: http://addins.kwwl.com/blogs/thedirt/2011/04/the-real-sign-of-spring