Today, I went out without a dog.
Most wild animals here still have a very strong aversion to wolves, and because coyotes are the main large predator in this, large canids make them wary.
So if you go out without a dog, there is a chance you might see something that would otherwise be too nervous to allow you to get near.
I headed down a little logging road/ATV trail when all of a sudden a little brown bird raced across the road about 30 feet in front of me.
It was too small to be a grouse, and I instantly recognized it as a wild turkey poult.
The poult jumped up on a log on the other side of the road and sat there for about a minute. For whatever reason, I couldn’t get it in my camera’s lens.
And it then jumped off and headed for the aspen grove just beyond the road.
I figured that there had to be more poults where that one came from, so I walked over to the side of the road where it started.
The tall grass rustled with little turkey poults shooting in all directions. I caught not a single one on camera.
But it wasn’t 15 seconds before I heard a turkey cluck, and all of a sudden this turkey hen rushed me.
She came within 3 feet of me and feigned a wounded wing.
She was trying to distract me from her poults, which had taken refuge in the tall grass.
She ran around me making wide circles, then tight ones, then wide ones, then tighter ones.
Here’s the video:
It wasn’t long before I realized that I couldn’t photograph the poults, so I decided to humor the hen and follow her away from her young.
She soon flew into the trees, clucking the whole time.
If Miley had been with me, she would have just flushed the turkey, and I wouldn’t have had this encounter.
Dogs can enhance one’s experiences in nature, but sometimes, it’s better just to leave them at home.
You might see something like this.
So cool. There is a turkey who raises her clutch on my friend’s farm every year. She stays in the bottom pasture with the horses & the cattle.
I had a similar experience when I got between a momma Squatch
And her young toddler. She faked a back injury and dropped a
Social Security application for disability. I stopped to look at the
Papers and when I looked up they had disappeared.
Neat!
We have a wild turkey hen who adopted us – she lives on a garden trellis and is in love with my husband. The dogs chase her away but she just flies into a tree. The feral cats leave her alone. Yesterday she chased a family of geese away from her territory.People who come to visit usually tiptoe around and try and photograph her – but she stand still for photos.
Some of these turkey hens will attack dogs, especially when they are still on the nest.
WOW, bet you got nervous whenthe hen started toward you! Nice video..
We have a alot of wild turkey around but have not seen any poults. I got a trail cam set-up jus tto get pictures of all our wildlife visitors as I am not a hunter. I have gotten pictures of coyote, gray and red fox, deer, raccoon, ground hogs and others. It’s fun to pull the trail cam and see what visitors we have had near us. We live up on a mountain in Greenville, SC.
I started a blog several weeks ago posting about our wildlife and my woodworking.
Michael
http://michaelswoodcraft.wordpress.com/2013/07/16/its-bluebird-nesting-time-again/
Would that be Paris Mountain? Pretty place! I live near there.
Hi Anna,
Yes, that wild be Paris Mountain, small world, didn’t know you were in Greenville when I posted.
I really like your turkey pictures and video. Sounds like you might have a lot of turkey in your area. You should consider getting a trail cam, it takes pictures 24 hours a day for weeks on the same batteries. I have gotten some really great pictures.
On my way out to work this morning I saw a huge copperhead snake, took picture and posted it on my blog earlier today.
Michael