Wild Turkeys In My Backyard

[Perknose]

Sitting on my back veranda with my morning Joe, I saw I had some unexpected company. I rushed inside to get my camera, which also has this really neat cellular phone function, but they'd disappeared into the tall grass (I no longer mow my entire backyard) before I had a chance to capture them.

. . . Which reminds me, Thanksgiving is coming soon! I hope a flock of wild cranberry sauce comes by soon.

And, yeah, I know, TTIWWOP.

 

[KMFJD]

We have 1 that lives in the bush behind the house and in the neighboring pasture, see quite a few wild turkeys actually

 

[NuclearNed]

When I bought my property ~11 years ago, I would see a lot of them. Now not so many... the local folks say this is because the coyote population in our area is exploding

 

[NoTine42]

When I bought my property ~11 years ago, I would see a lot of them. Now not so many... the local folks say this is because the coyote population in our area is exploding

Have the locals been adding free-range chickens?
I’ve heard chickens attract coyotes. Otherwise, it might be amusing having chickens roaming around, but I don’t want to invite coyotes to attack my dogs. So then I’d need a mule to attack the coyotes and then I’d need fences and too much other work..

I generally see a few turkeys once/year

 

[Darwin333]

Have the locals been adding free-range chickens?
I’ve heard chickens attract coyotes. Otherwise, it might be amusing having chickens roaming around, but I don’t want to invite coyotes to attack my dogs. So then I’d need a mule to attack the coyotes and then I’d need fences and too much other work..

I generally see a few turkeys once/year

Free-range donkeys?

 

[Thebobo]

Pics of backyard!

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Ours too.

 

[FeuerFrei]

Enjoy. I know I'm loving the salamander in my shower.

I bet if you saw bigfoot in the backyard, you'd completely forget to grab a camera (with phone function).

 

[snoopy7548]

We see them walking around our office building all the time. A couple of months ago there was a mother with her three babies, and now they're much bigger. Fattening up for Thanksgiving!

 

[pete6032]

Those things are vicious.

 

[highland145]

When I bought my property ~11 years ago, I would see a lot of them. Now not so many... the local folks say this is because the coyote population in our area is exploding

'sup, Mon?

Same with the coyote. Pigs, too, but they're both on a 24/7 kill critter list here. Thankfully, processors are handling the pigs more. DHEC rules and separation requirements...pigs were a non for years.

BFF can only hunt pig on his 300AC deer site. Times a changing.

 

[UglyCasanova]

Drink em

 

[highland145]

Drink em

That is acceptable.

 

[Kaido]

Wild Turkeys In My Backyard

Stealing this for my future band name

 

[Iron Woode]

We have wild turkeys outside the city due to lots of farmland. Some brave ones show up in neighbourhoods mostly in the north end.

Once in a while one shows up near our downtown and messes with traffic near a cemetery.

 

[ch33zw1z]

We have turkeys around here, they walk through the eat bugs and stuff. it helps controls the tick population.

 

[PottedMeat]

A couple of months ago there was a mother with her three babies

i almost ran over one on my bicycle

the mom was crossing on the left with 2 others close and one lagging behind to my right. i slow down to let it cross but instead it comes closer to my tire then sits down almost in my path to pretend like it's a rock or something. then it darts across the road.

i've seen flocks of 10+ just walking around yards

 

[highland145]

pretend like it's a rock or something

lol

 

[Brainonska511]

I've seen them every now and then in small groups in my drives through Cambridge, MA.

A few months ago, we were on a rural road in upstate NY and saw a wild turkey jogging down the side of the road. Such silly birds.

 

[highland145]

A few months ago, we were on a rural road in upstate NY and saw a wild turkey jogging down the side of the road. Such silly birds.

 

[Perknose]

i've seen flocks of 10+ just walking around yards

Just a mile or so north of me, on roads ringed by woods, I've often encountered flocks of ten plus plus. They can move pretty damn fast.

 

[Thebobo]

What interesting is the wild turkey was on the road to extinction. You were lucky to see one in the woods in the 70s now they are all over the place.

Wiki

At the beginning of the 20th century the range and numbers of wild turkeys had decreased due to hunting and loss of habitat. Game managers estimate that the entire population of wild turkeys in the United States was as low as 30,000 by the late 1930s.[51] By the 1940s, it was almost totally extirpated from Canada and had become localized in pockets in the United States, in the north-east effectively restricted to the Appalachians, only as far north as central Pennsylvania. Game officials made efforts to protect and encourage the breeding of the surviving wild population, and some trapped birds were relocated to new areas, including some in the western states where it was not native. There is evidence that the bird does well when near farmland, which provides grain and also berry-bearing shrubs at its edges.[52] As wild turkey numbers rebounded, hunting became legal in 49 U.S. states (excluding Alaska). In 1973, the total U.S. population was estimated to be 1.3 million, and current estimates place the entire wild turkey population at 7 million individuals. In recent years, "trap and transfer" projects have reintroduced wild turkeys to several provinces of Canada as well, sometimes from across the border in the United States.

.

 

[boomerang]

When we lived in Michigan I woke up one morning to find eleven Turkeys perched on the railings of our deck. We saw five deer walk through in single file once. We saw deer all the time but never in a caravan like that. Saw a fox once too. I had never seen a real live fox before.

 

[NuclearNed]

'sup, Mon

Hey dude.

We've had a few wild hogs in our area, but not too many. I saw one a few years back. Western NC is supposed to be overrun with them.

 

[PottedMeat]

Saw a fox once too. I had never seen a real live fox before.

for some reason in my mind i thought they were adult german shepherd sized animals. i finally saw one near a local lake, i was surprised it was so small like a cat.