Wild Turkeys

The turkeys are back. Wild turkeys - they’re everywhere right now. In town, out in the wild, on the streets, on the back roads, in the yards, on the sidewalk.

This morning there’s a flock of six under my crabapple tree. A few apples fall each winter, usually deer find them first. But it seems those turkeys found a few today.

I grab my camera and head outside for a fun picture to send back to my city-dwelling family. I think I’ll title it ‘turkey dinner under an apple tree’. I like to send wildlife photos to them from my small western town. It always amazes them to see we have deer, fox, elk, and coyotes wander through. And now today, the turkeys.

Creeping slowly up to these large birds, the huge tom suddenly comes my way. Wings flapping, head down, gobbling, he chases me onto my porch. Then calmly goes back to the flock.

“Are you threatening me?” I yell at that bird, then chuckle. I’m yelling at a large animal that won’t actually hurt me.

I take a few photos from the porch. Zoom in for some closeups. Then I decide payback is in order.

Jumping off the porch, I flap my arms. I gobble like that big tom turkey. I run around the yard. Off those birds scatter to a yard down the street.

I turn my back, return to the porch as that tom tries one more time to chase me.

As it charges me, all full of bluster, I repeat, “Are you threatening me?”

He stops. Then, and I swear, he says, “No, just making sure we’re not dinner tonight.”

But perhaps all he said was “Gobble, gobble.”




W/C 282