Not So Wordless Wednesday (Sutherlin, OR)

I haven't done a Not So Wordless Wednesday post in a long time.  So, here are some photos of the wild turkeys doing their turkey thing.

I'm always on the lookout for these guys while on our walks.  Often, we hear them before we see them.  I love watching them when they don't like a certain sound such as a helicopter flying in the distance.

They show their displeasure of the sounds by everyone making a gobbling sound together.  I swear the leader must call out "On the count!  3! 2! 1!"...dip heads and "Gobble! Gobble! Gobble!"

In sync -- "Gobble! Gobble! Gobble!"

It seems like the turkeys have doubled or even tripled since November.  We started out seeing a posse of six to ten turkeys.  Now, we are seeing up to 30+ turkeys.  Many of them look very young.

One very foggy morning, we had over 20 turkeys milling around near our site.  As we watched them, two young males started to fight.  Running around in circles pecking at each other while using their feet and flapping their wings.

Then, the fight got very intense when one aggressive male caught the beak of the other male and started to twist his head downward.  I was worried that he would break the other's neck or his beak.  That's when we noticed that the others were not just milling around, they were watching the fight.  Above, you can see the feet of more turkeys coming down the road.  Most were elders and apparently, they did not like the young males fighting.

One of the larger elders started pecking at the dominating young male while four other elders circled trying to help.  When that did not work, one of the elders managed to wedge his body between the two putting pressure on their heads until the dominating one released the other.  As they moved on down the road away from us, we could see the elders working hard to keep the two separated.  Isn't that interesting?  I'm going to miss our big feathered friends but not their droppings... ;) when we leave here.

Check out this link with Twelve Unusual Facts about Turkeys by the National Wildlife Federation.  I learned a few unusual facts about turkeys.  

Did you know wild turkeys sleep in trees?  I have seen them fly up to 30 feet in the air, but I did not realize that they slept in the trees.

Hey Tom, you are looking a little blue

Another unusual fact is their heads can change color depending on their emotions from pink/red to blue or white.

I need to go back to see what else I can learn about other interesting critters.  

I have been busy quilting away the hours when I'm not watching the antics of turkeys.  I'll post photos of my projects next time.

Happy Quilting!