Wild Theories Swirl as Flock of Vultures Descends on Virginia Home

The front yard of a home in Virginia has captivated the internet thanks to the ominous flock of vultures that were seen surrounding the property.

Jody, who recently moved to the nearby area, spotted the unusual scene and snapped a picture back in December.

"I had come to a stop sign, ready to turn and looked up to see at least 40 to 50 vultures on, around, and circling this house—about a block or two from the house I'm moving into," she told Newsweek. "I threw my car into reverse to get out of the middle of the road and snap that photo."

Looking for answers, she turned to Google which told her that this kind of bird behavior is sometimes a result of a gas leak, or worse, a dead body.

An avid Reddit user, she shared the picture on the r/WTF subreddit where it has over 14,000 upvotes and thousands of comments.

The photograph, while intriguing, apparently didn't even fully capture the scale of the eerie gathering. "There were many more circling and landing all over the yard (front and back). My reaction was quite literally 'What the f***?'" said Jody.

The Reddit community engaged in a myriad of theories, ranging from the humorous to the concerning. One user suggested: "Call the non-emergency line for a welfare check, give them this picture as justification."

Another shared an interesting tidbit about vultures, stating: "A group of vultures is called a committee, venue, or volt. In flight, a group of vultures is a kettle, and when feeding at a carcass, the group is referred to as a wake."

Among the speculations, the possibility of a deceased animal in the crawl space was proposed: "Something probably died in the crawl space. Cat, opossum, raccoon, etc."

A more optimistic perspective came from a user who expressed love for vultures: "Don't know about anyone else, but I absolutely love vultures. I think they're such a beautiful bird. Turkey vultures gather like this sometimes because they're fairly social creatures. They could just be there chilling because it's a nice sunny day and they liked the spot. It is likely everything is fine."

Vultures have been associated with various omens and symbolism. While they are often linked to death due to their scavenging nature, some belief systems associate with angels and believe that their presence signals the arrival of prosperity or a sense of reassurance.

In reality, the reasons for a group of vultures to gather vary. They include roosting, finding food or taking advantage of warm air currents.

Jody's best guess regarding the vultures' presence? She believes it could have been a result of septic system issues: "I'm not 100 percent sure why the vultures were there but my best guess is the septic system may need some maintenance," she said. "Upon returning a few days later some dirt had been dug up in the backyard."