Me...blog about wild turkeys? No way...but then again...I see them almost everyday...so why not? Usually I see a handful of them, in the fields near our middle school or by the cattle farm. So yesterday while driving through I saw a huge number of them relatively close to the road. I thought this a great opportunity for some cool photos, however, by the time I got home and grabbed my gear and returned to the site...the turkeys had moved further into the field and no longer offered the coolest of photo opportunities...but then again...I was here now so I took a stab at it. (I should also mention it started snowing pellet balls during this wild turkey photo shoot episode.) Then this morning, I was shooting a few photos of a house for a realtor friend, and walking through the back yard was a wild tom turkey! So hence, the subject of today's post. I've always been a bit curious about them...and they definitely caught my attention yesterday...so here are a few facts I pulled from the Maine Department of Inland fisheries and Wildlife website.The average adult hens weigh between 8 - 12 lb. and adult toms between 10 - 20 lb., but a large tom can weigh in excess of 25 lb.
Heads of gobblers (adult toms) are generally bare and blue with a hint of pink and red, but colors can change with the mood of the tom. (yes...once again the boys are prettier than the girls!)
Turkeys can fly up to 60 miles per hour and a distance of 1 mile? (Please God never allow this flock of turkeys to fly in my presence when I'm behind the wheel...a crash would be inevitable)
Wild Turkeys in Maine breed during April and May, and the dominant toms do most of the breeding, through elaborate strutting and gobbling, they try to attract and mate with as many hens as they can, which may be as many as 12 or more. (dawgs...no comment!)
I'm guessing if I return to this spot in a few months...it might be possible to see some little ones in the flock!
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