The sight of buzzards hovering overhead is an ominous sight, but residents of Bunn, North Carolina are learning to live with one particularly messy pack, according to Insider.
The turkey vultures, while harmless to humans, are disliked because they feed off dead carcasses. Additionally, their acidic droppings can eat through the paint on a car and they vomit when threatened.
The birds are considered an endangered species, and therefore, federal and state law outlaws killing, hurting, or harassing them — no matter how many and how disruptive they may be.
Back in December, the North Carolina town began firing a propane cannon at regular intervals, day or night, to try and scare off the mess-making birds, which worked for a while, but the vultures eventually returned.
The town also tried hanging “effigies” around the rooftop of the local high school couldn’t didn’t deter the two-foot tall black birds.
Residents, who are puzzled as to why the buzzards chose their town, have counted as many as 58 buzzards at the height if the invasion.