At times we see no wild turkeys for weeks-on-end. Sometimes we see 3 or 4 turkey nearly daily. Then there are the bonus days when we see a whole flock. For the past few days a flock of 10-16 turkey who seemed to have escaped being someone's entrée for Thanksgiving or Christmas have visited us. If they cross the creek that borders our lot they are subject, during season, to being shot by humans - with bow & arrow or shotgun.
The photos were taken on the 10th of this month and are in order from earliest to latest. There are no photos of the turkeys while they were near the house (on our patio and in the planting beds) because, to get a decent photo, I must open the sliding glass door. Obviously, that is most likely to flush them.
I just recalled that, last evening, as Hunky Husband and I sat chatting in the living room, I caught a glimpse of two turkey fluttering down from having flown over our house to settle in our back yard. I didn't get up to see them and it would have been too dark for me to have caught photos. They sometimes roost in the trees of our (or nearby) woods for the night. I have sometimes thought that some of them roost on our roof, as well.
Do you catch them then pluck them and eat them?
They would be too big for me. I'm just a pheasant plucker 😍
Posted by: Ole phat stu | January 13, 2021 at 02:49 PM
Stu--I should think that a pheasant plucker would be qualified to pluck a turkey. The challenge might be to find a vessel large enough in which to scald a turkey. One might have to catch a young turkey before it develops size.
I certainly know how to pluck and eat them; but, I am required to take them "in a humane and lawful manner". Killing and eating would probably not qualify. As in other wildlife, if I find the turkeys to be a nuisance, I may trap them and turn them over to our city's animal control agent. The only critter on whom that event befell was an o'possum that HH and I caught in our garage in about 1970.
Posted by: Cop Car | January 14, 2021 at 09:59 AM
Also, probably need a hunting/trapping license - and only take them at a set time. IDK, maybe KS is different than NH. They were wiped out and had to be reintroduced to NH, so they are carefully regulated.
I remember that possum in the wood stack :). They loved cat food.
Posted by: bogie | January 17, 2021 at 04:17 AM
That’s a sizable flock of wild turkeys. They appear quite slim and streamlined compared to domestic turkeys. You’re fortunate if an opossum is the only wild creature you’ve had to deal with, especially if you have a nearby creek or river.
Posted by: Joared | January 26, 2021 at 10:10 PM
Bogie--Perhaps the city winks at the other wildlife regulations when they encourage us to have them pick up our trapped animals.
Joared--I'm trying to recall the largest our flock has grown. I think that we were visited by 43 turkey some years ago. Just now, HH scared off the flock of 16 that had assembled on/around our patio when he went to survey his kingdom through the sliding-glass door. They roam pretty freely about our neighborhood - sometimes in or crossing our street, other times visiting the creek. Our yard is one of the few that presents no impediments between the street and creek. I think they probably visit the lake, surrounded by houses, that is across the street from us; but, we don't see them over there. Fences are an issue there, too.
Oh...we've had at least one bobcat, nesting foxes, raccoons, deer, squirrels and lots of reptiles in addition to the opossums in the riparian areas in which we live/have lived.
Posted by: Cop Car | January 27, 2021 at 08:17 AM