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I'm in RI.. we've had flocks of wild turkey a lot more this year than usual.
I've followed flocks of 20 or more and just now saw the largest flock I've ever
seen here. There were over 80 of them. They had to cross a fairly busy street
and flew. Now, I've seen them fly before over short distances and maybe 40-50
feet in the air but what I just saw was the highest I've ever seen.. over 120 feet
in the air.. they flew right over the canopy of mature maples clearing them
by a solid 20 feet higher.. not all of them, but somewhere between 5-10 of the group
went that high right over the trees into the woods. Others flew between the trees.
I have flocks of turkeys that come to my house every day to eat the spilled bird seed. My road is quiet but when there is a car coming and they want to cross they will fly. It's an amazing sight. I've also seen them sleep high in the trees in the back yard. I have to say, I love the turkeys. They are smart but pretty doofy. The males are hysterical when they fluff out and parade around, dragging a wing on the ground.
How interesting that you others are seeing a lot of wild turkey, too! Over the past two months I've seen two different flocks in my area, about 20 miles apart. Coming home the other day I had to stop as part of a flock crossed the road, and counted around 40 hens - didn't see a male.
I got on the MN DNR site and read that winter mortality in turkeys can get to 60%, and I would think this extremely cold winter would take a toll on the flocks.
But it's just fascinating to me that so many of us are seeing so many turkeys! I'm in MN, where are you guys?
Eastern Long Island, NY. Tons of turkeys. I did see them feeling the cold during the last deep freeze but I gave them black oil sunflower and corn to help them out. Also, my bird bath has a heater and they can reach it so they have water to drink when everything is frozen.
I went to a meeting at a Nature Center about 25 miles away yesterday, and asked the naturalist if this year's flocking was any different than other years. She said that she didn't think so, that a flock of about 90 is near their center every winter.
I still think it's odd that so many of us are noticing large flocks this winter, though.
I'll bet most of you already knew this, but I had to get her to explain to me how wild turkeys nest and sleep. She said they "nest" - meaning lay eggs - on the ground, but they sleep up high in trees at night. Which kind of negates my idea that they are flocking to keep warm when they sleep. Well, maybe they flock to keep warm as they feed during the day?
I used to live 320 miles north of here and never saw wild turkey there. Maybe because wolves and other preditors were so plentiful there? I do remember seeing lots of turkeys when I lived in OK - but in the country, not in town. That video of the turkey going after the Fedex guy was strange.
Let's watch our turkey flocks year round this year and discuss over time. An unofficial turkey study by CDers!
A few days ago at the university I work for, a flock of about 20 turkeys took flight and one of the kids whipped out his phone to take a video. He managed to capture a more spatially-challenged turkey slamming into a 3rd floor window: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaRT_KaZF6g
Turkey was OK! Just dazed and got its foot caught. The girls in the dorm room had their shade drawn when the bird hit the window, and when they opened the shade to be confronted with a turkey, their screams seemed to have woken up the turkey from its daze.
They are but another group of wild animals adjusting to the presence of Man. More turkeys means more predators like wolves, coyotes, lynx and so on.
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