A Quick Cruise Through the Yard

I was determined to document the turkey evidence in my yard Sunday, but this particular bit of evidence was not one I expected to find:

Of course, I shouldn't have been surprised. The turkey has visited the yard more than once, picking up scraps at the base of the feeders, so it is only logical that a deposit be made from the other end. In fact, I found three turkey scats as I made my rounds.

For some reason, my track photos just didn't come out - all they picked up was the blinding white of snow (and the sun wasn't even out). Still, a click on the old "quick fix" button and voila! the tracks were suddenly visible.

So, here we have the Trail of the Turkey. It's longish legs make for a pretty good stride length, but it does drag its feet.

I really wanted to see if I could find where the bird was entering (and exiting) the yard. Any track that had a dead-end was a pretty good candidate.

Now, had I been smart, I would've tromped over to this set of tracks to see which way they were going - the best way to determine if this bird was taking off or landing. But, I didn't do that (I wasn't wearing my snowshoes and didn't feel like floundering in the snow). Still, based on the scuffs across the snow, I'm guessing this is a landing site, where the wing feathers dragged across the surface as it "back peddled" to stop, and where, maybe, the tip of the tail hit.

Something got Toby all excited along the edge of the fence - see how his fur is all standing up along his shoulders and the base of his tail? He trotted back and forth, back and forth, barking and sniffing. What could it have been? And how long ago? Must've been fairly fresh for him to get this worked up about it.

This giant sunflower head has remained untouched by the birds all fall and winter. I blame all the rain we had this fall - the seeds must've gotten all moldy. On the other hand, maybe they are empty. HM. A friend of mine showed me that her giant sunflower had totally empty seeds this fall. Sterile. I suggested it might've been the result of a hybrid seed and therefore wouldn't produce any fertile offspring of its own. Could that be what's happened here? The next time I'm out in the yard I'll have to pluck some of the seeds to find out.

Another calling card, this time on top of a bluebird box. There were no tracks around the post, and no tracks on top of the box, but there was the scat nonetheless. Suspect? Red squirrel.

Dinosaur in My Yard

Anyone who doesn't believe that birds descended from dinosaurs has never taken the time to watch turkeys.

As I was finishing my morning ablutions, I glanced out the bathroom window to see something large and dark wallowing through the snow. It was a turkey.

Just one turkey. This was odd, because I rarely see turkeys in the singular; they are usually in groups. Even odder was the fact that this bird was in my yard. It had to have flown in, because I have a five-foot fence around the yard (which in the winter is sometimes only a two-foot fence). It must've come in to check out the offerings at the birdfeeders, and finding them not to its tastes, it mosied on.

By the time I grabbed the camera and found an unfogged portion of the window through which I could see, it was picking up speed. I suspect it felt something was watching it, for it quickly shuffled along and vanished behind the shed.

I moved to another window, waiting for the bird to appear on the other side of the shed, but no such luck. Either it stopped where I couldn't see it, or it took off and flew into the woods.

According to the wildlife experts, back when I was in college, turkeys couldn't survive in the Adirondacks. Well - I imagine they are all eating crow now, for turkeys not only survive up here, but they are doing very well, thank you, their numbers increasing every year (or so it seems based on the number of birds seen along the roadsides all year).

When I was a kid, it was a rare event to see a turkey. I think my first bird was one I saw on a biology field trip when I was at Geneseo. We were at Letchworth State Park, and we watched a couple turkeys fly (!) up the face of a waterfall. It was impressive. That was the early '80s.

By 1995, when I had moved back to central NY to pursue my master's degree, turkeys had become fairly common-place in the cornfields around the house. I even bought special seed for them, but they weren't interested in it - who'd eat old seed when there was fresh corn in the fields?

Now-a-days turkeys are a dime a dozen.

I had an beau in college who used to go hunting. He shot a turkey one year around Mother's Day and decided we should give it to my mom. So we drove to my parents' house, roommates all in tow, and presented her with the bird. I suspect she was more surprised than pleased. But the mighty hunter cleaned the bird, she cooked it, and we ate it. The thing I remember most is that the bird had a deeper and narrower breast than a domestic turkey; Mom wasn't sure it would fit in the oven. And it was mostly dark meat (I never understood the preference for white-meat; give me dark meat any day), and as I recall had a kind of sweet flavor.

When I worked at the zoo, we had a flock of wild turkeys that would tour the zoo grounds, mostly in the morning before we opened to the public. It was here that the similarity between these birds and their saurian ancestors became apparent. Perhaps this was because the movie "Jurassic Park" had come out and had scenes of bipedal dinos running in flocks across open fields. Whatever the source, a flock of turkeys rapidly crossing an open space, especially in the early morning fog, sure looks like a flock of bipedal dinosaurs.

Don't believe me? Then stake out a flock of turkeys yourself and take up turkey watching. I guarantee that you will soon conclude that dinosaurs are still alive and well here in the 21st century.

Sleigh Bells Ring

We had some fine fall weather this weekend - the sun was actually out and I was finally able to get some gardening done (including planting the garlic).

Crabapple Glow

Toby was happy because we got to play a little soccer! Nothing like a good romp after a soccer ball to fill your afternoon.

Is this a happy-looking dog or what?!?

We had a nice hard frost Monday morning - it lasted until after 9:30 AM! Toby and I were on our walk and I had to dash back home for the camera.

White Pine (Pinus strobus) seedling.

Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota) - aka: Bird's Nest

I didn't ID this at the time. I think it's Blackberry, though (Rubus spp.)

But this morning, that all changed. This is what greeted me out the garage door:

Across the street a couple turkeys were taking it all in stride.

I decided to play with the camera and take some black and white shots of the snow. I kind of like the Ansel Adams look it gives to the landscape.

Some neighbors have some old farm equipment out front.

I love the nostalgic look.

Down at the Hudson River.

Of course by now it's all melted away, but it sure made for a pretty morning drive.

Update: according to Dear ol' Dad, the piece of farm equipment pictured above is "an old critter-powered road grader used to smooth dirt and gravel roads when they became rutted and full of holes. Too bad there isn't something similar for asphalt highway potholes!" Thanks, Dad!

Close Encounters

As I drove across the Hudson this morning on my way to work, I saw a deer coming downstream on the ice. I pulled over to get it's photo, and by the time I got out of the car, a line of turkeys was coming down the ice as well. The deer stopped and turned, looking at the turkeys.



Apparently seeking companionship (?), the deer set out in hot pursuit.




The turkeys were not impressed. They turned around and beat a hasty retreat back upstream.




Bambi followed. "Maybe if I casually cross the ice, they won't notice."




Finally, the Feathered 13 made their escape.

Christmas Turkeys

Now I know what you're thinking - roasted turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce. But no! I'm talkin' real turkeys!

It seems that yesterday several turkeys came to the VIC and had a party in the parking lot! Not only that, but they wandered down the walkway to the main building and checked out the snow-covered gardens.

Mr. Mike says the tracks weren't here yesterday at 9am, but when he returned at noon, they were. It must've been a late-morning party.

I love turkey tracks. They are so easy to identify (what else around here has avian feet that big?) and since I grew up with turkeys a rarity, it never ceases to amaze me when I see tracks...and it's even more exciting when the birds are present (even if these days they are almost as common as fleas on a dog).

When I worked at the Utica Zoo, we had a flock of wild turkeys that often wandered the grounds early in the morning when we first opened. If you don't believe that birds are the living descendants of dinosaurs, you obviously haven't watched a flock of turkeys in the early morning light! Maybe it's due to images from "Jurassic Park," but turkeys running across the ground look so much like dinosaurs that one almost feels like time has turned back. And for someone who loved dinosaurs as a kid (me), this is a real treat.

We are down to about 17" of snow now, thanks to the rain Christmas Eve (it was like a bloomin' typhoon out there). But it's not too crusty, surprisingly. Animals were on the move last night (making up for lost time), so there should be some good tracking out in the woods today. I encourage you all to take advantage of the nice weather today and go outside to see who was out and about in the last 24 hours.

Update:
The turkeys were back this afternoon snarfing up seeds cast to the ground by eager birds at our feeders. I shot this photo from the office window, but when I snuck out on the back deck for a better shot, they took off.



Turkeys have a very strong "flight" sense when it comes to any perceived threat - they aren't about to hang around to find out if the danger is real or not. First one, then five, then the whole group started to shuffle off into the woods, and then with a whoosh! they took to the air. Flying turkeys are pretty impressive. Unfortunately, the trees were in the way of getting any shots worthwhile.