A few years ago I posted a picture of some turkeys at our bird feeder (actually a retaining wall). Well the flock (correct term?) had grown to about 13 a couple years ago.
We counted more than 30 the other day!! What a sight. I wondered how they were going to all cross the road without getting hit. They flew! Those are some big birds. I read that some turkeys have been clocked at 55 mph.
Wild turkeys: of course, no current picture
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Chris_W
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Did you know they could fly? I know the first time I saw a huge wild turkey launch into the air I was dumbfounded 
Two of our kittens were with me at the time and after I picked my jaw up off the ground I took a look at them and they were frozen stiff with all of their fur completely standing on end. It was the funniest thing to see 
I don't see too many of them but see their tracks all the time. One main path they take goes to the top of the hill overlooking the road (a very steep drop down) and then the tracks disappear. They obviously fly across there to the other side of the road which is also at the top of a big hill (the road was cut into a larger hill right there). One day I saw one fly across the road after I startled it and it was almost hit by a truck. That sure would have made some damage!
They are pretty cool looking birds, and their numbers definitely seem to be increasing around here too.
Oh, and a group is called a rafter of turkeys, although some say a gaggle of turkeys
Two of our kittens were with me at the time and after I picked my jaw up off the ground I took a look at them and they were frozen stiff with all of their fur completely standing on end. It was the funniest thing to see I don't see too many of them but see their tracks all the time. One main path they take goes to the top of the hill overlooking the road (a very steep drop down) and then the tracks disappear. They obviously fly across there to the other side of the road which is also at the top of a big hill (the road was cut into a larger hill right there). One day I saw one fly across the road after I startled it and it was almost hit by a truck. That sure would have made some damage!
They are pretty cool looking birds, and their numbers definitely seem to be increasing around here too.
Oh, and a group is called a rafter of turkeys, although some say a gaggle of turkeys
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" As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."
ROFL at WKRP for the best episode ever!
The domestic birds can't fly (or if they can, not functionally well), the wild ones can. They perch in trees too. My parents had a substantial flock in their backyard in NH eating the fallen thistle seeds. Since they finished the development they live in, the turkeys are few and far between.
ROFL at WKRP for the best episode ever!
The domestic birds can't fly (or if they can, not functionally well), the wild ones can. They perch in trees too. My parents had a substantial flock in their backyard in NH eating the fallen thistle seeds. Since they finished the development they live in, the turkeys are few and far between.
Spider's Hosta List There are photos there too 
"I gotta have more cowbell!" SNL
"If your gecko is broken you have a reptile dysfunction."
"If you don't talk to your cat about catnip...who will?"
"I gotta have more cowbell!" SNL
"If your gecko is broken you have a reptile dysfunction."
"If you don't talk to your cat about catnip...who will?"
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eastwood2007
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I, too, thought turkeys could only fly a few feet or so, kinda like a chicken. But this spring the dogs and I took our usual walk around the pond and there was one at the end of the pond. One dog spied it and tried to get it. That turkey took off and flew!!!!!! I watched it for at least 2 hundred yards, flying and crashing thru the treetops to get away from the dog, who, by the way, stopped chasing as soon as the turkey took off, as he seemed shocked as well!
It seemed huge flying thru the trees and the sound it made flapping its wings was enormous. Who knew?
I watched it for at least 2 hundred yards, flying and crashing thru the treetops to get away from the dog, who, by the way, stopped chasing as soon as the turkey took off, as he seemed shocked as well! It seemed huge flying thru the trees and the sound it made flapping its wings was enormous. Who knew?
Charla
Latitude 38.57N; Longitude -94.89W (Elev. 886 ft.)
Latitude 38.57N; Longitude -94.89W (Elev. 886 ft.)
Chris,
You are absolutely right, it is a shock to see them fly. I knew there was a specific word for a group of them....rafter that's it. Thanks,
Since you mentioned your kittens, I'll post an older pic I caught of a neighbor's cat thinking he would catch a little chick-a-dee for lunch.
Hahaha,,, the surprise was on the cat. He finally just snuck away quietly and hunched down.
Turkey says:"""Go Ahead, Make My Day"""
Cat says: "Please don't see me."
"I'm not even looking at you, OK?"
**** Oh Spider, I will never forget that episode of WKRP,,,,, that was some story!!!!!!
Eastwood, yea, I thought they probably flew something like a chicken, but it is a sight to see.
You are absolutely right, it is a shock to see them fly. I knew there was a specific word for a group of them....rafter that's it. Thanks,
Since you mentioned your kittens, I'll post an older pic I caught of a neighbor's cat thinking he would catch a little chick-a-dee for lunch.
Hahaha,,, the surprise was on the cat. He finally just snuck away quietly and hunched down.
Turkey says:"""Go Ahead, Make My Day"""
Cat says: "Please don't see me."
"I'm not even looking at you, OK?"
****
Oh Spider, I will never forget that episode of WKRP,,,,, that was some story!!!!!!Eastwood, yea, I thought they probably flew something like a chicken, but it is a sight to see.
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Primroselane
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Hi Chris
We have some in our area and they fascinate me.
I took this Turkey Quiz and found out they fly 55 miles per hour.
Here's a Thanksgiving quiz. Good luck!!
http://home.aristotle.net/Thanksgiving/trivia.asp
We have some in our area and they fascinate me.
I took this Turkey Quiz and found out they fly 55 miles per hour.
Here's a Thanksgiving quiz. Good luck!!
http://home.aristotle.net/Thanksgiving/trivia.asp
Lucille
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eastwood2007
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Love that turkey/cat pic! I knew that wild turkeys could fly, have seen them fly many times. Still, I was walking out in the field one day a number of years ago, walked past a ravine at the edge of the field, and a turkey flew up out of the grass at the edge of it, just inches from my face. I thought for sure something as large as a bear had just jumped out in front of me. It flew all the way across the rest of the field and down the hill into the pasture, quite some distance. That was as close as I'll ever get to a wild turkey. It still amazes me that something that large could be so completely hidden in the tall grasses just a few feet from me.
Linda P
Linda P
And time remembered is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten.....
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Latitude: 41° 51' 12.1572"
My Hosta List
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten.....
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Latitude: 41° 51' 12.1572"
My Hosta List
My neighbors used to raise a few domestic specialized turkeys for Thanksgiving & Christmas dinners. One year a wild one strolled into their pen to get a free meal, and the owner closed the door behind it. He decided to use it for Thanksgiving dinner,,,,,,what a mistake-he later told me. Since they are range birds, the meat was so tough and stringy it was only good for soup.
I have a summer pic of a group of 10 birds walking down the middle of the road, when they saw me, they quickly dashed for the ditches and just disappeared into the foliage. Even though I watched them go, and knew just where they were, I could not see them at all. Great camoflage experts.
I have a summer pic of a group of 10 birds walking down the middle of the road, when they saw me, they quickly dashed for the ditches and just disappeared into the foliage. Even though I watched them go, and knew just where they were, I could not see them at all. Great camoflage experts.
CHAR (wild4flowers)
Happiness is making a bouquet
of those flowers within reach !
Happiness is making a bouquet
of those flowers within reach !