When the light hits Wild Turkeys just right their colors can be downright impressive.
1/3200, f/8, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Yesterday morning in the Stansbury Mountains this male was foraging with a group of other toms. I find turkeys in the area fairly often but usually all or most of them have been hens or younger birds so it was a treat to find this colorful gobbler and get a few photos of him isolated from the others in the small flock.
In some small mountain towns in Utah turkeys are considered a pest by some so they’re trapped and relocated by DNR personnel but out here in the west desert mountains they’re much less common and far more elusive.
I consider those birds to be a worthy quarry for my lens.
Ron
I do not remember reading that wild turkeys displayed iridescence. I will look at my wild turkey folder to see if I have captured iridescence without noticing it. Ron, this shot is really sharp. Great detail. Camera settings were perfect.
Thanks, Dave. I read that some of their colors are iridescent and others are just… colorful.
We have them hanging around our neighborhood. Stepped out the front door one morning and one after another dropped down out of my front yard oak tree. Eighteen of them, they were like giant brown easter eggs raining down from their concealed roosts, it was a lot of fun to see. A couple of separate broods consisting mostly of teenage turkeys. They don’t tear up my yard and I don’t tear up theirs so were getting along nicely.
I’ve seen them bombing through the air over the heavy auto traffic on our very busy Highway 101, they manage it well using the hills to their advantage.
When you see their colors flash in the sun it really grabs your attention. And when you see all their full colors really, really lit up by the sun at just the right angle, it’ll knock your socks off! Well, it does mine anyway.
Beautiful photo here Ron, classic turkey setting that looks like some of their favored terrain around here.
“They don’t tear up my yard and I don’t tear up theirs so were getting along nicely”
I love the way you said that, Dave! If only more of us did the same. I enjoyed reading about your experiences with them.
Lovely coloration! They can live in my yard, no complaints form me.
I think I’d like having them around too, April. But then one never knows until you’ve been there…
When they first showed up years ago, it was really fun to have them around. But, as numbers increased, it became less pleasant to have them here. With numbers often in excess of 20, they can make a big mess on your deck. (Their droppings are not small.) They will tear up flower beds and those large, powerful feet can do some damage to our roof. During breeding time males become very aggressive to each other and I have had them be aggressive to us, Once they discovered our bird feeders (on our 2nd story deck) they have destroyed some of them. They have actually done more damage than the raccoons that come by at night. Like all birds, they have some very interesting features and behaviors, but I’d be happier if there were fewer of them coming through each day. Don’t get me wrong; they’re colorful and fascinating. They have just worn out their welcome.
Gotta admit, if they were damaging my roof I’d have a problem with them too.
I agree with you on the turkeys. I find them to have a beautiful, reflective feathers. Lovely photo!
Good. Thanks, Linda.
Read and learn. I have lived in Idaho and Utah my whole life. I didn’t know there were two subspecies of Wild Turkeys. I have seen them here and in California and have never seen the iridescence. They are beautiful and fun to watch.
Betty, there are actually six subspecies of Wild Turkeys but Utah only has two of them.
Truly amazing. I think that birds and fish have the most incredible colours (including iridescence). And wondeful trotting about rather than trussed and roasted.
I like them both ways, EC… 🙂
I have some wonderful shots of that iridescence up close. But, unfortunately, for many of us here in western Oregon, Wild Turkeys have worn out their welcome. They are not native to this are but there have been many introductions of them over the years.Thirty years ago they were only found in a few nearby places and it was exciting to find even one wandering through the woods. Now they have become a pest in many places. I live in the city near the edge of a wooded area. Turkeys come through the yard everyday, often 20 or more at a time. One day I counted 72 crossing the street in front of our house. They are fearless, which is how I got closeup photos of the feathers using only a 90mm lens. They are wild, but if I stand in the yard they will simply walk past me as if I wasn’t even there. They are now commonly seen walking throughout urban neighborhoods here. Sometimes we hear them loudly landing on our roof in the morning as they down from the tall Douglas-fin trees above our home where they roost during the night. So, sadly, they have lost some of their charm and simply a part of our urban wildlife.
Dan, some folks in mountain towns around here have similar feelings about them. Like most anything else I guess, too much of a good thing…
If it’s possible to be ugly and beautiful at the same time…
I can’t recall seeing copper-colored hues on another bird. I guess Hummingbirds come close when the light is at the right angle.
Gotta be a name for that spike on its head.
Lyle, that “spike” is a fleshy lobe that becomes engorged with blood and expands when the Tom is excited. Can’t remember its name. Maybe it’s just considered to be another part of the wattle.
Now THIS is what Ben Franklin was talking about! 😃 What a stunner — definitely a regal carriage. I’ll soon be visiting an area in which there have been a couple of flocks of wild turkeys. Hope they’re still there and that I get to spot them.
I wish you luck seeing them, Marty. In many areas they’re extremely wary but in others they’re much more approachable.
He’s a beauty! I’ve seen wild turkeys only a few times in my life. Every time it was an OOOOOOH AAAHHHHH experience for me. 😀
I’m always excited to see them too, Arwen – especially out in the west desert. When they’re near our mountain towns they’re usually foraging in agricultural fields so the unnatural settings don’t appeal to me much.
Yes their colors are quite impressive! Sometimes those feathers actually look ‘rolled’ or give the impression that they are. Quite a nice photo! They are quite common here in WI…in fact I usually have some coming in to glean around my bird feeders but they have excellent eyesight. They are skittish and are off the moment they catch any movement out of the ordinary. Constantly scanning about, even the windows.
Exactly, Kathy – they’re extremely wary birds. In my experience there’s no sneaking up on them. You get close only if they let you…
Stunning! So many, glowing, colors! 🙂 Wonder if they are highly visible to predators when they are “glowing”? I’ve only seen them once at a distance down near Belt. Understand they used to be more common here. Know they are in other areas of the state. Doing the high wind thing yesterday, and perhaps, today. 🙁 Cow shipping underway as is grain hauling – gets ones attention when a loaded grain semi has a “list” to it!
Thanks, Judy.
I have many memories of driving those old grain trucks on soft summer fallow when fully loaded and the whole truck leaning and rocking from side to side. It made a creaking noise that always scared me. Never tipped one over or lost any significant amount of grain though, knowing my dad would take it out of my wages… 🙂
Worthy quarry for sure,and a handsome guy was well. And iridescent he surely is. Looks like the light was perfect to show that off. Great photo Ron. Missed a great photo op here yesterday. We were out hiking near our Goldwater Lake and my wife came down off a trail to the lake before I did and got to see a Bald Eagle rapidly race out of the high pines and chase an Osprey who was circling the lake looking for fish. She said the eagle flew right up to the Osprey in a very aggressive manner and forced the Osprey to retreat. All I could see when I arrived was the eagle almost back to its perch and the osprey going in the opposite direction.
Thanks, Everett. What you describe is typical eagle/osprey behavior but always exciting to witness.
Great shot!
Today we don’t have a clue about how early Americans, both settlers and Indians, at least here in Vermont, use to round-up Turkeys in their roosting areas and slaughter them. Between rampart hunting and clearing of the land turkeys became extinct from Vermont landscape by the mid 1800’s. They were successfully reintroduced in 1969 and 1970 and now we have approximately 50K+. With this history I get excited every time I see a Wild Turkey in my state.
Dick, we have two turkey subspecies in Utah. Merriam’s Wild Turkey was native to Utah but had to be reintroduced. The Rio Grande Wild Turkey was introduced in the 1980’s.