One of the jobsites I work at is home to a sizable flock of
wild turkeys. While they occasionally congregate in large groups (in the spring, I saw a flock of 21 birds on the grounds), they typically range in smaller groups of two to five birds. Today, I was able to approach a pair of the birds (I moved slowly and quietly, and I had some "cover" from a low wall), and one of them approached within about six feet of me... I think it saw my bald, ruddy head and assumed I was its mother. I could even hear the quiet "ripping" sound as it pecked at the grass. I only had my sub-par cell phone camera with me, but I was able to snap a quick pic:
Wild turkeys are a strange mix of the ugly and the beautiful- their warty heads are comically small, but their feathers have a pretty hint of iridescence. They certainly look like something out of the
Mesozoic... they definitely look like relatives of
this charmer. The turkeys that we have on site are almost as tame as dogs- I promise I'll bring a better camera to work so you can get a better image of these
pretty/ugly birds.
Nice, it sounds like they're like deer at the golf course.
ReplyDeleteThere are some turkeys around here, but they're pretty wary of humans.
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That one looks like Thanksgiving dinner to me!
ReplyDeleteYumm-eh!!!!! :P
((Hugs))
Laura
I LOVE them. My sister's house sits in the middle of an old growth Oak forest in North Marin, and shares it with Turkeys (and deer, raccoons, squirrels, bobcats and such as, all lorded over by a pair of very deadly Owls).
ReplyDeleteThey are such perfect dinosaurs that I love to watch them - I'm sure it's like watching some of the earliest pre-birds with their odd, herky-jerky gait and they way they poke around in the undergrowth and detritus on the forest floor.
She won't let me "harvest" one of 'em. Probably for the best...
two to five birds
ReplyDeleteNext they marry a box-turtle and Gabriel sounds his horn.
There are some turkeys around here, but they're pretty wary of humans.
ReplyDeleteThere's a stronger hunting tradition in West Virginia than in Westchester, I'd warrant.
That one looks like Thanksgiving dinner to me!
Yumm-eh!!!!! :P
Canadian Thanksgiving or U.S. Thanksgiving? Even better, how about celebrating both, and really chowing down?
They are such perfect dinosaurs that I love to watch them - I'm sure it's like watching some of the earliest pre-birds with their odd, herky-jerky gait and they way they poke around in the undergrowth and detritus on the forest floor.
They really are pretty damn prehistoric looking.
Next they marry a box-turtle and Gabriel sounds his horn.
Is Santorum weeping, or crowing with joy at the impending Rapture?
I'm not sure--in all the years I've watched dinosaur show after dinosaur show--I've ever seen an Oviraptor. I learn shit from this blog!
ReplyDeleteTurkeys, as they should look... before breast augmentation became the norm.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure--in all the years I've watched dinosaur show after dinosaur show--I've ever seen an Oviraptor. I learn shit from this blog!
ReplyDeleteWHAT!?!?!?! You'd better do some research before Dudeskull reaches the dinosaur phase. You don't want to lose cool points.
Turkeys, as they should look... before breast augmentation became the norm.
Before they got "stuffed", so to speak.
All I know about them is that they are bad tempered little fuckers. There are some wild ones over towards the East Coast of the North island from here. Local farmers keep the numbers down but they are doing well.
ReplyDeleteAll I know about them is that they are bad tempered little fuckers
ReplyDeleteYou live in a land of alarming birds.