A rare bird

[mlh]

We have had a flock of turkeys that come through our yard twice almost every day for the last 6 months. They generally roost in or near our backyard. We will see one and if you watch you will see another and another fly down in our backyard. I’m setting in the sunroom watching then now. I’ve been a turkey hunter for over 50 years. I never hunted them here but I do feed them when there is no mask. One of these hen turkeys has a beard. This is the first one I have ever seen. She is a rare bird and very interesting to watch.
Lynwood

[twindman]

Don't they make a big mess in your yard?

[BB_TX]

Only hunting I do any more is with a camera. But I still go out in the woods and watch the deer, turkey, and all the other critters and take pictures. Peaceful and calming. Although I can still get a little excited when a nice buck steps out of the brush.

[Mikendebbie]

Our neighbor on the north side is bird crazy. She has maybe 50 chickens (seemingly every type on earth), 50 ducks and geese, 3 peacocks, 5 turkeys and a big group of guineas. She keeps them in a large half acre fenced yard…lots of trees, water troughs and some kiddie pools for the ducks to play in. We enjoy watching them - the guineas are funny, always walking around outside the fence. The low sound of the quacking, crowing and clucking is comforting - sounds like what what my grandmothers place sounded like when I was a kid. Luckily the prevailing winds in Central Texas come from the southeast (Gulf of Mexico) 10-11 months of the year, blowing any odors away from us. Occasionally we can smell the crew when the wind shifts out of the north, but a bad smell is rare. They have some dogs in a separate large pen that do a good job of keeping the coyotes away.

[mlh]

I’m like Bill I only hunt turkeys with a camera. That way you get to shoot them and there is no mess to clean up. My brother and I loved to turkey hunt together but now he is gone it’s no fun anymore.
They don’t make a mess of the yard. One by one they fly down in the morning all get together and make their way down in the hayfield. Then in the afternoon they come back through picking up something in the yard and head up to roost. I think they go up on a ridge beside the house and then fly back down to lower trees.
Lynwood

[BB_TX]

Just got a picture of a very sickly looking doe on one of our trail cams. Hoping it is just an old weak deer and not CWD (chronic wasting disease). There have been numerous reports of CWD deer being found in Texas as well as other states.

[Lee-CI]

I don't hunt any longer either. The DW won't eat wild game other than fish, so i don't kill what she won't eat. I still put in a well managed food plot each year not 65 yards from the office window at the S&B. We have deer year round and they are a joy to watch.
Don't get me started on the wild hog issues though. Far as I'm concerned, they are NOT game animals.

[BB_TX]

These have been showing up more and more over the last 10 years or so. Beautiful animals. As is most wildlife in one way or another.

[ranch560]

We also have turkeys making their seemingly daily visits at our eastern Washington place. Sometimes there are only males, sometimes only ladies, sometimes they bring the kids, and sometimes they bring the whole flock. My wife tries to keep enough turkey food (cob, apples, seeds and nuts, and an occasional mouse we catch in the garage) available. They are so used to us we can get within 5 feet from them. We have actually watched turf wars between large flocks (30 or more) fighting for whatever reason. Very fun. When we are not there, we watch them on the security cameras.

I do remember eating a wild turkey years ago. After that experience, I became a forever Butterball turkey fan!!

[BB_TX]

Originally Posted by ranch560

……………..

I do remember eating a wild turkey years ago. After that experience, I became a forever Butterball turkey fan!!

My son shot one a number of years ago and cooked it after researching how to cook wild turkeys. Once was enough.

[mlh]

They aren’t much to eat unless you haven’t had anything to eat in a very long time.
The Appalachian turkeys are a different sub species than the Western turkeys. Western turkeys will come close to people not Eastern turkeys. Our turkeys will run away if they see anything unusual and fly if you are lucky enough to get close. That is why these are SO unusual. These will see us in the house through the sliding glass doors or we can get a hundred feet away from them and they not run off. This is what makes them both fun and hard to hunt. If you are calling a gobbler up in the spring he is looking for a hen and when he doesn’t see one he will hang up just out of shotgun range and will not come any closer. Turkey hunters who go all over the country say our turkeys are by far the hardest to hunt.
Lynwood

[BB_TX]

Many years ago I was casually sitting beside a creek, leaning back against a tree in the TX hill country. Not really hunting very hard. Not even in camo. I was waiting for deer but I heard turkey coming toward me from down in the creek. No place to hide so I sat as still as possible. As soon as one popped up over the creek bank and saw me the flock of 8-10 took to the air straight away from me. I raised my rifle with scope on about 6 power. They were so close that the lens just filled with black and I pulled the trigger.

Pure luck the bullet hit straight into the rear end of one. A 30-06 is not a good turkey gun. The air filled with a cloud of black feathers. I picked up a half breast with one wing, one leg, and a head hanging off it. Took it back to camp to show my buddies. Then wished I hadn’t as they ragged on me the rest of the week.

[mlh]

I remember my first turkey. I was squirrel hunting in Bath County Va about 90 miles from home and I was 16. A turkey flew up to roost. I thought it was 200 yards in reality it was closer to 75 yards. I took careful aim with me 22 LR pulled the trigger and it fell out of the tree. I ran down to it expecting it to run off. I had shot to through the neck. It was dead before it hit the ground.
My best shot was at a groundhog at a measured 1005 yards. It’s videoed you can see the vapor trail go up and out of sight. Then come back in sight and go straight to the groundhog. I tried a 1010 yard shot the same afternoon. This time the bullet hit a couple of inches behind him. If you put your finger on the screen where the bullet hit and rewind you will see if he stayed still the bullet would have hit in front of him but he started to move as I touched the trigger and he moved far enough the bullet hit behind him.
That will never happen again because the coyotes have accomplished what we would never do, wipe out all the groundhogs.
Lynwood

[twindman]

Speaking of turkeys - I grew up in Iowa and there were absolutely NO turkeys at that time. Our last couple of trips thru the state we saw numerous turkeys. Somehow they have spread all over! Wonder why?

[mlh]

Originally Posted by twindman

Speaking of turkeys - I grew up in Iowa and there were absolutely NO turkeys at that time. Our last couple of trips thru the state we saw numerous turkeys. Somehow they have spread all over! Wonder why?

I know in Virginia turkeys were trapped and moved. My brother and I hunted in a remote country in Virginia and while we were hunting the game department trapped some with a giant net.
Lynwood

[BB_TX]

I can’t explain it. I have lived in this area all my 77 years. Never any deer in this area until just a few years ago. Seeing them around now even though human population and development has increased tremendously thru out the entire multi county area. Actually have an open hunting season now where it was always permanently closed season for our county until a few years ago.

Are turkeys to follow??

[mlh]

When we were kids there was no deer here. 46 years ago when we built our home I walked down in a logging road and found a deer track and ran back to the house to get my wife so she could see it.
About 65 or 70 years ago there were 2 elk here. Im sure now had been stocked at the Peak of Otter on the Blueridge Parkway. Which is about 50 miles from us and I guess they made it up here. The bull would stick its antlers through a 3 point horse plow. When it moved he would sling it back over his head. He destroyed the plow while our neighbor watched. I’m glad they aren’t here now but there is a herd in far southwest Va up in coal mining county.
Lynwood

[AZ Traveler]

Originally Posted by twindman

Speaking of turkeys - I grew up in Iowa and there were absolutely NO turkeys at that time. Our last couple of trips thru the state we saw numerous turkeys. Somehow they have spread all over! Wonder why?

NWTF - National Wild Turkey Federation.