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Post by binnylou on Feb 24, 2021 20:13:41 GMT -5
Yesterday, the 13 hen turkeys were done shopping our driveway, so they headed down the road, single file. They were no sooner out of sight and 3 Tom turkeys show up. These fellows were big. Their beards were so long, they stepped on them as they reached downward to peck at something.
As dark started to settle in, hubby told me to look to the east. There were 4 young deer, playing like puppies out in the yard. They were zooming around like they were enjoying the warmer temperatures.
It’s like a wildlife refuge around here.
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Post by desertwoman on Feb 24, 2021 20:26:55 GMT -5
It is a wild life refuge. Lucky critters. Lucky you.
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Post by breezygardener on Mar 9, 2021 13:54:15 GMT -5
Saw our local little flock of 6-7 birds out grazing amongst the horses this morning. They were 7 the last time I saw them, but could only define 6 from a distance. Hopefully they're still at 7, but sometimes it's difficult to see them all without frightening them off.
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Post by binnylou on Mar 25, 2021 11:24:48 GMT -5
Turkeys showed up this morning. We haven’t seen them for a few weeks. As I was watching, one of them was acting strangely....stomping, dancing, flapping his wings. There was a squirrel on the tree trunk, and there was a challenge going on. Funny to watch. That turkey acted like he was stomping snakes.
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Post by binnylou on Apr 23, 2021 10:19:40 GMT -5
This morning I heard the gobble of a turkey, close in. Finally spotted three toms, two doing the display thing. Before long, a hen finds her way toward the group, then heads away, possibly looking for privacy. Possibly not interested. Maybe later...
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Post by binnylou on Jul 24, 2021 21:07:40 GMT -5
Turkeys on the south yard this morning. Three toms, two hens and seven younguns. There’s a tree right at the edge of the non groomed area. The hens rest in the shade, but they can quickly disappear in to almost head high grasses.
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Post by breezygardener on Jul 24, 2021 21:53:41 GMT -5
Absolutely ADORE our turkey families, & have followed them over the yearws from Day 1 when we first see tiny babies. As the season progresses, as usual, the females & their poults are starting to gather & combine. All our original three families have now gathered together, so we now have 4 females together & all their poults of different ages. They wander through our yard several times a day & are a delight to watch. Since they're all different families, all the poults are different ages/sizes, & it's so cute watching them all interact. I think they've become more used to us as not having any loose dogs/cats, so are less wary when we step out onto our deck to watch them.
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Post by binnylou on Aug 2, 2021 11:02:48 GMT -5
When working in the flower garden yesterday, we saw a hen turkey in the windbreak adjacent to the flower garden. I didn’t get a count, but she had babies following her. The poults that we’ve been seeing lately are about chicken size. The ones we saw yesterday were small, like duckling size. I’ve never seen such little turkey birds.
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Post by binnylou on Aug 27, 2021 9:08:15 GMT -5
Five Tom turkeys on the yard this morning. They pretty much cover all corners of the mowed areas. I think they are harvesting crickets.
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Post by binnylou on Aug 29, 2021 10:07:17 GMT -5
Yesterday’s entertainment included more turkey watching. I heard hubby laughing..then him telling me that I need to look out the south window. There’s three turkeys, two of them Toms ..for sure. There was some defensive interaction between the two Toms and an attempt at escape. The tree down at the edge of the mowed area has become “home base” apparently. Around the tree they go…one pursuing the other…twenty times…thirty times…I lost count. The turkey in front makes a break for it, heading closer to our house. Another tree…around and around they go. This second tree is close to our deck. I watched for a while, but had things to do. I’m not sure how long this lasted.
More fun than watching the neighbors. And they don’t throw their beer cans out the car window.
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Post by breezygardener on Aug 29, 2021 13:55:41 GMT -5
It's that time of year when the adult females & their combined broods start chasing the young males out of the group to where they'll soon form their own same-sex groups for the winter. We watched one of our groups working on that just the other day. Eventually the separated young males ended up bringing up the rear, & in another couple of weeks they'll have left the group altogether & joined up with the young males from the other family groups.
This time we also watched a young fawn approach the turkeys in a curious manner, & when it leaned over & sniffed one of the adult females, she flew up at the fawn with claws outstretched like an attacking rooster!! Then she chased the fawn across the yard. First time we've seen that behavior in one of "our" turkeys.
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Post by binnylou on Sept 21, 2021 20:42:06 GMT -5
I was taking an evening cruise around the property…counting new gopher holes, checking the air for possible dead ground hog, when I just happened to look toward the road. Sixteen turkey feet…picking them up and layin them down…headed down the middle of the gravel road. I didn’t realize the turkey birds were around. If I had known they were in the vicinity, I would have stayed on the back side of the property. I was surprised that they didn’t go airborne and seek safety in the nearby trees.
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Post by binnylou on Oct 24, 2021 9:57:32 GMT -5
Apparently turkeys don’t care for rain. There’s 13 of them gathered beneath our Maple tree. A few will decide to make a break for it, then the raindrops get heavier and turkeys run back under the tree.
Rainy day entertainment.
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Post by breezygardener on Oct 24, 2021 17:27:34 GMT -5
Apparently turkeys don’t care for rain No, they don't. Just like vultures, they're such large birds that once they get rain-soaked it makes it difficult for them to get airborne. And when it's poult season, many die from getting rain-soaked & chilled if for some reason they can't get underneath mom for protection.
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Post by binnylou on Oct 30, 2021 11:05:29 GMT -5
Thirteen turkeys on the yard this morning, including the one on the roof of the house.
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