No, it ain’t a pitting.
Our house is across the wetlands from a nature preserve, & across the street from a forested lot.
This, even though I can walk to City Hall. Welcome to Murfreesboro.
Last night, Dad & I had finished dinner, & were in the living room watching TV.
I look out the window, & call Dad to come look.
Turkeys.
Wild Turkeys. Walking down our street! :eek:
They were on the far side, 2 of them, male & female, & they just strutted into the woods, calm & quiet. None of the local dogs kicked up a fuss.
I never knew things were this wild, in my own front yard.
Last year in Boston by BC, wild turkeys took up residence in the woods behind a movie theater. They would periodically stray into civilization and attack people :eek:
We see 'em around here in semi-rural central California a lot. In fact, they might be attaining pest status. I like to make them “shock-gobble” - when I see a flock next to a road, I slow down and toot the car horn. This causes the toms to gobble in response. Funny!
Turkey season opened Sunday (yes, I know too many hunters) and it is my firm opinion that the turkeys know this and have migrated to the nearest city centers they could find, so as to avoid being shot. We live in Cottontown (absolute country – 'bout 20 miles past BFE) and always have wild turkeys in our yard, but not the last few days. The last few days, I have seen wild turkeys roaming the streets of Gallatin, Hendersonville and even Nashville. They’re smarter than ya think.
The first year that I lived in the house that I am in now, I had a male and female turkey that would visit my yard regularly. They were quite agressive (the male was anyway.) They would sit in my lawn chairs and on my front porch and once when I was trying to get in my car the male fanned his tail feathers and stood his ground.
This agressiveness did not serve them well during hunting season (I’m guessing) because after hunting season they were never seen again.
To me this is part of a larger and fascinating story. When I was a kid, wild turkeys were considered shy and secretive, and indeed were rarely seen. Hunters had to be wily and experienced to bag them. Now? Forget it – the wild turkeys (and the Canada geese, and the coyotes, and the bears, and the fisher cats, etc., etc.) completely have our number. They realize that by living among us, they can do as they damn well please, eating our pets and trash and molesting us as we walk to our cars.
Maybe not as cool as wild turkeys, but there’s a group of ring necked pheasants that live near my house, year round. They strut up and down the street near a very small swamp, and don’t seem afraid of cars driving by at all.
Would it be more remarkable if I said I live in Brooklyn? Not usually known as a hot-spot for exotic birds!
I’ve got about 20 of them that come through here all at once a couple times a year. Then there are two groups that are only about two-three turkeys per. Bog loves getting out the ‘call’ and having conversations with them.
The rest of the list includes one 6 point buck, 4 ‘ladies’ that hang out in our pines, a couple of foxes, some nesting hawks who train their babies out back over the farmer’s fields, and every small rodent and bird imaginable. I’ve also seen a white owl with a wingspan bigger than mine, but only once at the back of the property.
I miss wild turkeys. Since the area I live in has built up I don’t see 'em anymore. The woods behind my mom’s and sis’s houses are full of 'em though. So when I go to visit I get to see wild turkeys, deer, and all kinds of critters. I’m obviously meant to live in a rural area.
Oh, I love wild turkeys! Every year they wander through our communal land and clean up the fallen acorns. They leave fantastic beautiful feathers in return - which the kids always insist are “hawk” feathers.
