This Morning’s Excitement

Photos
Top Left: If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you will see the head of the young tom just over the top of the old tom's fanned tail.
Top Right: Here's looking at ya! The old tom shows us his other side.
Bottom Left: Time to get going, girls.
Bottom Right: Scoot. I said move it!

As I was checking my email this morning, my mother started calling to me to look out into the back yard. And what to my wondering eyes should appear but 10 hen turkeys, one old tom and one young tom! Oh! My! Goodness!

The young tom strolled away from the flock, but the old tom was definitely in charge and herding the hens. They did not mind at all that I was standing in the open door with my flash camera taking as many pictures as I could, hoping to get at least a couple of good shots (perhaps “shots” was a poor choice of words when speaking about wild turkeys).

As the flock strolled across my back yard, the young tom began advancing—perhaps wanting to horn in (another poor choice of words?) on the action. At this point the old tom became agitated. He gobbled (yes, just like turkeys are supposed to do) a few times and began running after the hens.

By the time I ran upstairs to look out a side window, they were all gone.

Seeing a flock of turkeys that size makes we wonder what happened to the coyote den we had about a mile from here. The den was mentioned in a newspaper interview with the town’s animal control officer. I’ll just bet someone did something to that den and it’s occupant(s).