Late last winter I had the "local" large flock of wild turkeys gleaning seed from under the bird feeders in my front yard. It was bitterly cold, with deep snow. I thought the flock that normally roams from the north edge of Larimore up toward the old cemetery and Hwy 2 were coming in closer because of hunger.

For the past several weeks I have had groups of wild turkeys, ranging from a group of three to a group of 21, coming to my feeder tree several times a day. The largest group is nearly always here between 0730-0900. It's not been cold, barely below zero, and the snow is very thin. Their normal feeding areas and the harvested fields are wide open.

It is amazing. I have been tossing out 3-4 quarts of sunflower weed every other evening, and now my neighbor across the road is doing the same. We have turkeys everywhere several times a day!

Last winter I had to be extremely quiet and keep the curtains mostly closed to watch them. Now I can walk around the house normally, pin the curtains open for a better view, and while they do see me, and sometimes give me the evil eye, they do not run off.

I'm took the photos while the morning sun is glaring in the window. I have only two windows where I can photograph them from, neither offers an ideal view.

I have one gobbler that shows up with two poults. Another gobbler always has five poults in tow. These two small groups never mingle in with the larger groups of adult toms, hens, and jakes. They will leave the area as soon as the larger groups start coming up the road.