ORLANDO, Fla. – Vultures have returned to Orange County's courthouse -- and this isn't a lawyer joke.
The Orlando Sentinel reports the black and turkey vultures are attracted to thermal updrafts from the masonry-faced tower as well as its many spacious ledges and rails for perching. Bird experts say they return to the area around the same time each year.
That has been a periodic and costly problem, from the damage caused by the sharp-beaked birds and the measures to repel them, since the 24-story courthouse opened 20 years ago.
Their behavior at the top floors of the courthouse is a concern for roof drains and window caulking.
Orange County's facilities are drawing up plans to prevent the 416-foot building from attracting an enormous "kettle," or flock of vultures.