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caroline94535

At least 25 wild turkeys in yard!

caroline94535
9 years ago

Last winter was the first time we had prolonged visits to the front yard by the local "Larimore Flock" of wild turkeys. They usually hand around the old cemetery (about a mile away) and the hundreds of acres of crops next to it.

I had supposed the extreme cold and deep snow of February/March last year drove them further in to town looking for food.

Once they found my feeder tree, and the 2-plus gallons of black oil sunflower seed I poured out for them daily, they were here very early each morning for several weeks.

This morning I was snoozing away. Wes is off on his Grand Elk Hunt, so the dogs were also sleeping in and not doing the "Let's go hunting, NOW!" song and dance at 0530.

I heard a turkey yelping, right outside the window. No, it wasn't Wes "practicing" on one of his turkey calls. LOL It was real turkeys, 5-10 feet from the window. I heard clucks, purrs, yelping, and one half-hearted attempt to gobble by a half-grown poult.

There were at least 25 turkeys. They came down the north side of the yard, across the front yard, all through the empty garden, up the driveway, and all around the front of the garage. It was bizarre.

It's a good thing Harry is deaf now. My new windows would have been torn out of the frames if he would have seen that many turkeys that close to the house.

I managed to quietly lead the dogs from the kitchen, where they were sleeping, and into the mudroom. I locked the puppy gate and was then able to watch the turkeys from three directions. It was pretty awesome.

Last winter, as soon as I touched one of the lace curtains the flock would leave - quickly. This morning I was able to open the metal blind in the den, move the curtains aside in the sewing room, and move the curtains on both sides of the living room. They noticed, but did not move fast, or too far away. Boss Tom was giving me the evil beady eye from behind the tree, watching both me and his harem.

Wes took the digital camera with him to Montana, so I tried to get these shots with my old phone.

Guess who's going to go into town for six more 50-lb. bags of black oil sunflower seed? I just put in a winter stash of five bags, but I know I'll need more if the turkeys are showing up this early. I always stockpile bird supplies in October so I don't have to dash out in really bad weather.

I could not get all the turkeys in one shot, since they were all around the house. In the second photo you can see some under my tree and more across the road going between the two houses.

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