We have a flock of wild turkeys (32+) that troop through occassionally. Lately they have been coming through around 7:30 a.m. and then again in the late afternoon. They skirt the end of the property where all the hickory nuts and acorns fall. I was suprised to learn that the average wild turkey will only live about 2 years (largely due to the hunters) but they can live as long as 13 years. wild turkeys in back yard ( photo / image / picture from gfreiherr's Garden ) following the leader ( photo / image / picture from gfreiherr's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from gfreiherr's Garden ) Then Molly, our golden retriever, started barking and they all took off. turkeys taking off ( photo / image / picture from gfreiherr's Garden ) turkeys taking off ( photo / image / picture from gfreiherr's Garden ) They can fly for short distances up to 88km/hr(55 mph). They can glide as far as a mile without flapping their wings. They can run 29 km/hr (18 mph).
Ha ha You did a great job on the turkey hunt. Loved the take off. Thanks for sharing. Did any of you raise turkeys? I did 2 times. have to have warm feet?? Had black an had white. They are different. Hard to pull feathers off too. b
You got some great shots of those turkeys Gail - especially the ones in flight. I didn't realise wild turkeys were so fast both on the wing and on the ground!!
Do they make a lot of noise when they take off? I imagine they do. I've seen them in the woods when hiking but from fairly far away.
Yes MaryAnn they make a short "yelping"? sound and then their was alot of flapping of wings. They all took off pretty fast but they need a running start. Its kind of neat to see they all take off at once when there are so many. Thanks for all your comments, I enjoy taking the photos.
We have a lot of wild turkeys around us too, and yes I know they can fly (luckily they've avoided my truck's windshield up until now!). Great pictures!
They are fun to watch but you have to be quiet if you are outside...they spook easily. I hope they continue to stay on the edge of the yard because they do make a mess.
We have wild Turkey's here too. They can indeed fly, but they sure aren't graceful! They are a funny sight when they are up in the trees too...that is where they seem to sleep at night.
I read that they roost in trees, would love to see that. There is a farm & wooded area adjacent to our golf community, I assume that is when they roost.
out at our lake property, we see turkeys a lot. One morning, we saw a huge group of them poking around the cabin. As we watched, they got closer and closer to us. We counted about 30 or so. I was getting a bit nervous about them getting so close, and didn't want them to be tempted by all our plants, so Bob went out to shoo them away. it was funny to watch them take off. They bob their heads and group up. Some of them did fly into some nearby trees. Id rather see them at a distance :-|
