EARLY BIRDS: Imagine a flock of turkey buzzards hanging around your front door. Might wanna stay inside, right?

They have unique characteristics and, as the saying goes, a face only a mother could love. They are the archetypal vulture we all know and love.

Nancy Dryden of Bradford tells us she saw three of the big birds the other day when she was walking her dog. They were perched in the trees, stark images against the backdrop of a sunny day. Their bills, she said, were “notable.”

Not positive what they were, she went home and turned to her bird books.

While these birds are, well, ugly, there’s something fascinating about their unusual looks and their sheer size.

Nancy tells us a friend who lives in Derrick City reports that a group of these turkey buzzards nests in a particular location on Derrick Road each spring. And we know, too, that the village of Westline is one of the early roosting spots when the buzzards return.

In Westline, their return is like clockwork: They arrive on March 15 (the ides of March, incidentally). We hope someone from Westline lets us know if they are keeping to the schedule. (Will they be a day early because of Leap Year?

One of our reporters is from Ohio and she pointed out that the town of Hinckley is host to thousands of these birds each spring — also arriving March 15 — which roost at Hinckley Reservation, a public park that includes a large lake.

We got a kick out of the description on a Hinckley website: At first glance, the buzzard is not the stuff of legend. A large and ungainly-looking bird, this scavenger is a dark-blackish color and boasts a six-foot wingspan. Unlike most other birds, the buzzard lacks a voice box; its calls are mostly hisses and grunts. It prefers to dine on carrion: dead raccoons, opossums, skunks, snakes and other “delicacies.” If carrion is not readily available, the buzzard will resort to killing small mammals or young birds.

Each year the residents of Hinckley observe the miracle of the buzzards with the traditional Buzzard Sunday celebration, which takes place on the Sunday following March 15. Festivities include a pancake breakfast, musical entertainment, storytelling, educational programs and, naturally, bird watching.

Good idea for Westline.