A Fowl Day in SE PA...

[Jim Becker]

Well, it's apparently getting close to spring...finally...although the 6" of snow that fell yesterday and last night may be hiding that fact. (Daffodils are already up about an inch...) And our turkey friends are back for their two-three visits per day. They were scarce over the winter this year...too much development is affecting their feeding and wandering habits, I think.

At any rate, "Tom" was taking some time today to admire that "other turkey" in my chrome bumper. It's funny to watch and when I went out to head off for lunch, there was a well-worn path all around the front of my truck...following the contour of the same! (Tom is one of a group of four males who love to eat sunflower seeds in the driveway as shown in the second picture)

[Dennis Peacock]

Very nice shots...I mean photo's there Jim!!! I just love wildlife in and around my property and I still have wild Mallards that insist on feeding every day when I get home from work. We started out with 3 ducks, then the next year it was Mom, Pop and 4 babies, then the next year it was 13 ducks..all grown. We have managed to see at least 6 Mallards stay here and feed, relax and just "muck" around and I expect to see almost 20 ducks in my yard sometime this spring. Horses, ducks, dogs, cats, fox squirrels, grey squirrels, hawks, eagles and ....yes...even some pesky moles are part of what we get to see and experience often. I think it's just GREAT!!!! :D

Thanks for sharing Jim.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Wildlife on your property is a wonderful gift! I get to see at least 25 deer and turkeys on my way to and from work every day, It is great! ;)

[Jim Becker]

We sometimes get the whole group of about 22 turkeys, although it's mostly these four males. Except for their faces, they are beautiful birds. I love it when they come by and I'm in the shop (just to the left in the second picture) as I can stand at the windows and watch them from about five feet away. They are wary, but don't bolt unless i make major sudden movements. Last year, "Tom" let me get within about 8 feet of him while he was enjoying his bumber fetish...

[Jerry Olexa]

Jim, I'm surprised the turkeys come right to your driveway. When I had my cabin in S. Ohio, we had plenty of deer feeding (corn which we provided) but the turkeys (wild) were very elusive and traveled usually in flocks. Sometimes they came through my land in a pattern but generally, you saw them when you were hiking the trails and they quickly hid when they saw you. Interesting fowl!?

[Dan Gill]

Jim, I'm surprised the turkeys come right to your driveway. When I had my cabin in S. Ohio, we had plenty of deer feeding (corn which we provided) but the turkeys (wild) were very elusive and traveled usually in flocks. Sometimes they came through my land in a pattern but generally, you saw them when you were hiking the trails and they quickly hid when they saw you. Interesting fowl!?

Turkeys can be very, very wary, but sometimes they are almost tame. We had a flock once that kept coming into our hunting camp once many years ago. We suspected that these were pen raised and released into the wild. Contrast that with a gobbler I saw last year who would not come into the open at all, even though the hen he was following kept coming back to my deer stand. You just can't tell with turkeys.

[Jim Becker]

Yes, with all the development, the turkeys (and deer) are not-quite tame in many respects. They are wary and will leave if you walk towards them usually, but I've been fortunate to have some relatively close encounters. And they don't just come to the driveway...on Monday morning, they were right on the deck next to the kitchen door.

[Jim Becker]

Here's a shot of one of my large, feathered friends right outside my office window yesterday afternoon...

[Steve Clardy]

Hmmm. Looks like you lost your snow, and gained a Turkey!!:eek:
We don't see many turkeys here, though there are lots of them, as the Coyotes keep an eye on them.:(

[Jerry Olexa]

Jim that is quite a shot! If I remember, you have a Nikon D70. Again, at my cabin we were lucky to get within a 100 ft of one. They were very wary of intruders. Great shot!!

[Jim Becker]

Jerry, that picture is from about 6-8 feet away from the bird through my office window...approx 110mm equvialent on the lense.

[Darren Ford]

When I first saw the second photo, I thought it was a big blood stain in the snow near the turkey on the right.

We went from largest count of 36 in our field to just a pair, last year were back up to about 7. Will be interesting to see how many this year.

They absolutely do come all the way up to the house (across a 40 acre field), and eat from the garden, or the plants around the house.

[Jim Becker]

Darren, that's just a reflection from the orange paint on the mower deck leaned up against the retaining wall...I hadn't noticed it in the picture before you pointed it out!!

[David Fried]

Jim,

We got some snow but by now it's mostly melted. No Toms but my rooster is cruising around!

[Jim Becker]

Your "boy" is beautiful, David! I've been suggesting to Dr. SWMBO that we get a chicken or three, especially for tick control. (Gunea Fowl are great for that but very LOUD for when you have neighbors)