I know I did several Wild Turkey posts last week and I didn’t intend to do another this week, but you can’t ignore the big birds if they keep doing interesting things. We’re into the early part of the Turkey breeding season and the males are spending much of their time displaying for the females.
Twenty-five years ago it was expected that you would find displaying males as single individuals. They would strut and call in solitude and were quick to take off in pursuit of a calling female.
It’s a different scene today. Males flock together in open areas to form group displays of 20 to 30 birds. It can be quite a loud and colorful sight.
The display site usually changes daily, but once the display begins it may continue at the same location for two or three hours.
Nesting females will visit the display site daily as they build their clutch of eggs. The females rarely call to attract a male and males are not likely to leave the display in response to a female call. In the matter of a couple dozen years, the turkeys have adopted a whole new way of doing business.
I know I did several Wild Turkey posts last week and I didn’t intend to do another this week, but you can’t ignore the big birds if they keep doing interesting things. We’re into the early part of the Turkey breeding season and the males are spending much of their time displaying for the females.
Twenty-five years ago it was expected that you would find displaying males as single individuals. They would strut and call in solitude and were quick to take off in pursuit of a calling female.
It’s a different scene today. Males flock together in open areas to form group displays of 20 to 30 birds. It can be quite a loud and colorful sight.
The display site usually changes daily, but once the display begins it may continue at the same location for two or three hours.
Nesting females will visit the display site daily as they build their clutch of eggs. The females rarely call to attract a male and males are not likely to leave the display in response to a female call. In the matter of a couple dozen years, the turkeys have adopted a whole new way of doing business.
You much have lovely accommodations for them to check in and stay. ;)
ReplyDeleteHi Steve...I have one thing to say " you sure have a quite the fan club" : }}
ReplyDeleteIt's a regular chorus line!
ReplyDeleteHi, Lois. They're like the relatives who come to visit, eat your cupboards bare and never get in a hurry to go home.
ReplyDeleteI like a good pun, grammie g. I even like bad ones and the really terrible puns are my favorites.
Hi, Wanda. Since these are all guys, it's more like a Full Monte line.
While reading this, I couldn't help but think of the ol' fashioned gentlemen's club. Do you have any ideas as to why this social change in turkey behavior?
ReplyDeleteKatie - I think it's a natural behavior that was just not possible when population densities were low. It's hard to act socially when there's no one else around.
ReplyDelete