Gobble Gobble

Here’s something I used to see all the time back in Massachusetts, wild turkeys. I would see them quite often when out running errands.

There was a large group that I would see regularly passing through my yard. The Tom’s always showing off by strutting and puffing themselves up, often times in the middle of the street, stopping traffic.

However, here in East Tennessee, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen these critters since my arrival back in December, and the times I have seen them they were so cautious and allusive they’ve been hard to get pictures of. 

Similar to the Canadian geese I blogged about prior, both these critters seem more “wild” in these parts. Perhaps, here they’ve not yet had to give in to the development, encroachment and building that’s taking place back home. However, that development is making its way south, so we’ll see how long these birds stay “wild”

Not the best picture below but it helps to make my point above -

About 1 In Every 100,000 Birds

Driving down to the far end of our property the other afternoon we spotted a rarity trying to hide in the tall grass.  However, due to it being all white, it stuck out like a sore thumb, so there was no hiding.

She was allusive and stayed low and hidden well. That's her circled in red below -

Eventually she popped out of the tall grass along the fence line, which allowed for the perfect photo opportunity below -

Certainly seems like a rarity to me, an albino wild turkey. I even asked the Google machine if a white turkey was rare and here is the response - "White wild turkeys are extremely rare, with estimates suggesting they occur in about 1 in every 100,000 birds", so there's that...

Perhaps, there's something in the Limestone water, as the Bright's Zoo, just 4-miles up the road, had a female giraffe give birth to a rare pattern-less baby giraffe back in late 2023.

Hoping this is a good omen and that we'll see more of the her once we get moved in.

Gobble 'Til You Wobble

Let's talk turkey, shall we...

These three Tom's were hang'n out in the front yard of 254 Orchard Street in Millis the other afternoon when I pulled up in the LLV.  A beautiful rustic historic house, just off the street. The boys were a bit skittish and camera shy but I was able to snap these pics before they got antsy and scurried off -

I even got a shot of the historical societies sign showing the age of the house -

I asked ChatGPT to tell me more about this house and Dr. Abijah Richardson and the below is what AI came back with, interesting -

Maura Tom turkeys!

I see them everywhere these days.  This flock was hang'n out in the Westwood cemetery yesterday late morning. Following my dental appointment in Needham, I stopped in to visit my parents grave.  Just before I stepped out of my car I was greeted with "gobble gobble gobble gobble".

It was SO peaceful and serene there.  I was the only one there (well except for the deceased - yeah, bad pun) and it was a beautiful morning -

Here the six of them are marching off in a straight line -

I was in no rush, so I drove across the street to BiBi Cafe & Bakery, grabbed a hot coffee and an apple maple scone (OMG, SO delicious), then back to the cemetery I went.  There's a little pond in this cemetery with a spewing fountain, see below, so I grabbed a spot on a sunny bench nearby and took it all in.

Reminiscing about my folks, while enjoying my coffee and scone, and taking in the sights and sounds - a pair of red-tailed hawks circling above and screeching, a grey heron wading in the pond, the turkey's gobbling, blue jays carrying on like they do, a frog croaking and the splashing water of the fountain.

Of course a tear or two rolling down my cheeks but SO thankful for the wonderful memories I have, where I am and what I have.

Well, seems this turkey post took an unexpected turn or did it?

#Blessed

Back Road AM Grid Lock!

A rafter of turkeys crossing Ridge street this morning brought traffic to a screeching halt!

All females with their young'n showing them the ropes of how to safely cross the street.

You'll have to take my word that there were about 6 or 8 adults and their babies. I was too busy enjoying the show live and slow on the draw with my camera, so only able to capture the trailing pairs.

High Flying

The nine turkey's were visiting again the other morning.  From what I can tell, there are two males and seven females. No rush, no agenda and not in any hurry.  They seemed rather content to slowly make their way from one side of my yard, across the front, to the other side.  All the while picking and eating as they went.

Just after I snapped the above pic the neighbor let his dog out, who wasted no time in making a b-line for them and giving chase.

What's amazing and SO fun to watch is how agile and quick these BIG birds are.  They each wasted NO time in immediately taking flight and off they went, and with a surprising ease, and not a short jaunt but rather they soared off.

All but one flew over the house behind me and out of sight.  However, the one pictured below, chose the safety of that tree, some 40+ feet up.  She didn't stay there too long and flew off, out of sight, in the direction of the others -

They've since been back several times and either don't remember the dog or simply aren't worried about it, as they're more than capable of escaping.

I would rather see the dog chasing off the deer, before they venture into my yard to eat my plants.

A Family Of Nine

There's a flock of wild turkeys, (9) of them, that appear to call the area around me home. For the last couple of weeks they've been in my yard almost every day, usually in the early mornings.

They mill about and cross the road often, back and forth, and with little care about vehicles.  So far there have been no casualties and bring traffic to a complete stop some times.

There also not a skittish, so it seems.  For example, I was able to raise the shade and take the below picture, as well as the video, see link below, and they were not too bothered.  In the past, that would be all it takes to scare them off but not this group.

Unfortunately, they've found my winter rye seeds, the ones that never took off before the cold weather set in, and have been in their glory eating it all.  Also, as you can see in the pic the winter rye did NOT do too well, to my disappointment. Not sure if it was the new feed store I purchased it from or the fact that up until this past weekend, we really haven't had any measurable rain in a couple months.

All in all they're awful bold, seeing that Thanksgiving is here!  Oh, the thought has crossed my mind at how delicious one of these must be!

Click this link to see, Wild Turkey's Take Over My Garden

A Plague Of Birds

Suppose it's just that time of the year, migration time.

Birds are on the move, many in masses too.

Admittedly, I am slow on the draw with the camera but in fairness I've not had my camera on me, so by the time I run to grab it and get back the flocks have often moved on and I miss out.

One exception was the flock of grackles that took over my front yard the other afternoon.  There were easily three times as many birds than the pic below shows.  They were in the trees above and on both sides of the house.  It's quite impressive to see SO many all together, especially when they take flight.  How they don't bump into one another is amazing.

While making diner the other night, I looked out to see about (15) wild turkeys making their way into my yard.  These birds have tremendous eyesight, so when they saw me watching they picked up their pace.  By the time I grabbed my camera and returned, this is the best shot I could get, which only shows five birds -

I am not into Ornithology, nor am I an Ornithologist or even a Twitcher for that matter but I do enjoy watching the birds that visit my place all year long.

Out For A Stroll

Passed these turkeys on my walk the other afternoon.  Looked like two adult hens and four youngsters.  As you can see one of the mothers was on guard and watching me closely as I made my way by.

Several years ago you couldn't swing a dead cat 😉 without hitting a wild turkey.  They were all over and in larger groups too.  There were even local news reports from other towns that were seemingly overrun with them.  I had oodles of them parading through my yard many times, often with 3 or 4 or 5 Tom's strutting and showing off for the hens.  Even taking their dancing to the center of Lincoln street, which would stop traffic.

However, there seems to have been a big decline in the last couple of years, at least I'm not seeing them nearly as much.  In the spring I saw a couple smaller groups, 3 or 4 birds pass through and this summer I've only see two females, each with a single chick following closely behind.

I did a quick Google search and the experts are unsure as to why the decline but have their theories, e.g. an increase in predators and hunting, and habitat loss and degradation, which all seem on point.  Of course man is at the root of it, after all we do need more CVS, Taco Bells and Walmart's, etc...

Attempted Stealth Mode Pic

I heard this senior gentleman the other morning just after sunrise.  He wasn't "gobbling", as turkeys do, rather it was a quick throaty sound, which I'm assuming was still geared towards letting nearby hens know he was in the vicinity.

I will tell you, as I'm sure turkey hunters are well aware of, turkeys have incredible eyesight.  He noticed me in the window instantly and immediately picked up his pace, always keeping one eye on me.  As he turned the corner of the house, I was able to go to a different window that had the blinds down which kept me hidden a little better but he was still very leery and kept looking for me.

Skittish and ever vigilant he kept moving, he slowed and was picking and eating things off the lawn, which I am hoping were beetles and other insects.  I would have preferred he hangout a while and eat more bugs but he had other plans and slowly made his was into the wooded area out back.

They're always welcome, as I could watch them for hours.

A Rafter Of Turkeys

I was able to snap a few pictures of this flock of wild turkey's this morning, slowing taking their time foraging and seemingly oblivious to the cold but moving with some sort of purpose.  Perhaps, they just don't like being exposes out in the open and were working their way into the wooded area.

I've not see such a herd of them in a while, so it was nice to see and like that they're milling around my back yard.

I'm sure they're thankful that it's been a fairly mild winter here in New England.

As cold as it was, this Tom has other things on his mind -

Look At Me! Look At Me!

I was treated to a show on my Saturday 6AM walk.

Seems that love is in the air.

Several tom's were showing off, as they stalked the hens.  They get so focused that they stop paying attention and can often be found dancing in the middle of the road oblivious to the vehicles.

Make Way For...

Gridlock on the roads the other morning!

Traffic came to a standstill to let momma Turkey and her chicks cross the road.

Thankfully, drivers were paying attention and all did the right thing.

Fly Pelican Fly

I watched two pair of wild turkey's cross the street in front of my house and amble their way out back.  At one point both females took off flying and landed on the garage roof of the house behind me. The two toms slowly made their way on foot and down the driveway, which is when both female flew down.  For a big bird, they're very good flier, short distance anyway.

A Rafter In Our Front Yard!

There was rafter of wild turkey's in our front yard this morning.  Eleven of them, (4) toms and (7) hens, and boy-o-boy were the toms showing off!  All puffed out and strutting, trying SO hard to impress the ladies.  Seems the ladies are annoyed with the constant badgering, as they try to mind their own business and forage for morsels.

They lingered and did their thing in the front of the house for about 20 minutes.  Cause some traffic woes, as the lookie-loos were stopping to watch.

I enjoyed the show, along with Trixie-dog and Oliver-cat.

Gobble Gobble Gobble

The marching, in March, of the turkey's.

Seven of them all in line came out from the back wetland area, along the property line into the neighbors driveway and crossed the street.  I suspect these dudes, as well as all wildlife in this area, are super happy that the warmer weather has arrived.  They are much more vocal and active these last couple of weeks.  Getting this matting game one...

Just Passing Through...

I was treated with a close encounter the other afternoon.  I was working in the yard near the chicken coop doing some fall clean up and deep in thought when I finally noticed I had 6 feathered visitors - a mom wild turkey and her 5 babies.  They were some 30 odd feet away and didn't seem to mind that I was there.  They milled around for quite some time too.  Some stretching out in the sun, some preening themselves and others foraging.

The neighbors kids came out to play on their swing set, which spooked them (you can see the kids early in the video), so they started to make their way past the chicken coop, up the hill and eventually made it across the street.  The video is interesting as both the turkeys and the chickens seemed puzzled with each other...

Momma and Brood Crossing

Momma turkey and her 7 chicks crossing the road the other morning.  It was interesting to see how she slowed her pace to let her chicks cross ahead of her, while she brought up the rear.  It was like she was staring me down and giving me a stern non-verbal warning that she and her chicks were crossing and I'd just have to wait.

I thought it was a little late in the season to be rearing chicks, August 11.  They got some growing and learning to do to be ready for this coming cold weather.

Gobble Gobble Gobble

Hmm, and I thought all the turkey's I worked with were inside the building...

Curiosity Killed The Cat...or Turkey

We had close to a dozen turkeys in the back yard this morning.  Perhaps, they heard I filled the bird feeder, for the first time this fall, and hung some suet and wanted to check things out.

They proceeded to march into the woods, onto bigger and better places I suspect.  However, the three Toms below lingered, thought about heading towards the street but turned back.

Something caught their eye; something in the pool area. Low and behold it was Oliver. They cautiously started making their way up, straining their necks forward, as if the extra neck length distance kept them safer.

Oliver was statuesque-like and didn't move, which had the turkeys all the more inquisitive, so the closer they came.  The eventually got tired or were satisfied there was no threat and moved along.

It was interesting to watch.

Puffed Up To Impress

This gentleman was showing off for the hen behind him, which happened to be right outside the cafeteria window at my office.  This allowed me to walk right up to the window to grab some nice closeup pics.  These birds are somewhat used to people, so he didn't seem bothered by me approaching.  He kept a watchful eye on me but also one, more importantly, on the hen.

I can't speak for her, but I was impressed!