Today’s post was inspired by a brain fart. Mine.
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in
This is the photo I posted five days ago of the rare smoke morph hen Wild Turkey I photographed the previous day in the mountains of the west desert. She only came out into the open once and the several photos I managed to get of her all looked about like this one.
The following day I journeyed out west again to see if I could relocate the flock and that unique hen. I managed to find both but once again the elusive hen only came out into the open for a brief moment so in my next post, the one featuring images of the displaying tom, I told my blog readers I wasn’t able to get any photos of her. I thought that was true because there weren’t any photos of her on my memory card when I downloaded the images to my computer.
But yesterday I remembered I hadn’t downloaded any images from my other camera attached to my smaller 100-400 zoom lens for some time so I did so. And lo and behold, about a dozen photos of the smoke morph hen popped up on my screen that were taken on my second morning with the flock. I’d forgotten that when she came out into the open she was too close for my big lens so I had quickly switched over to my other camera with the smaller lens attached.
Brain fart indeed. I’m just lucky I didn’t reformat that card while it was still in my camera. I’ve pulled that stupid stunt more than once in the past.
1/4000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @400mm, not baited, set up or called in
This is one of those photos taken with my smaller lens on my second morning with the flock. You get a strong hint that it was a grab shot (literally, I just grabbed my other camera setup off my pickup seat and fired away) because my camera settings weren’t particularly appropriate for the situation. At least I got the exposure right.
I think it complements the previous photo because we see several of her features better including her tail and the colors of her head. I was also closer to her and she’s in better light so this photo has a little more detail. Immediately after this shot was taken she completely disappeared into the deep shadows of the thick junipers in the background.
I’m delighted to have the photos I took on my second morning with this rare bird since she’s probably the only smoke morph Wild Turkey I’ll ever see, much less photograph. In comments to my previous post about this bird, both on my blog and on Facebook, only a single reader said that they’d ever seen a smoke morph Wild Turkey. That reader was my good friend Jim DeWitt, a.k.a. “Wickersham’s Conscience.”
Jim wrote a humorous blog post about his failed attempt to photograph a couple of smoke morph Wild Turkeys along the Appalachian Trail. It’s worth the read.
“WC’s Epic Fails: Photographing Turkeys on the Appalachian Trail“.
Ron
I love this new photo, Ron. The delicate iridescent red feathers bordering her eye and cheek are simply amazing and caught my attention immediately. Neutral earth tones except for those lacy feathers. Just lovely!!
Thank goodness you downloaded the pics. That is a beautiful photo.
Thank you, Jean.
Is her facial skin an unusual color? It seems do to me.
Pam, I don’t know enough about Wild Turkeys to know for sure.
She is a very pretty lady! I especially like the light play with the range from pretty deep shadow all the way to sparkling reflection off the snow — it makes the image for me.
Thanks to the fibro, these sorts of brain farts are daily (and sometimes hourly) occurrences for me, so I totally get it! I’ve enabled all the pop up “are you sure you want to do that?s” on all my electronic devices, lest I delete something critical.
Ha, I never disable those popups either, Marty!
These smoked turkeys sure are beautiful birds. A couple days after your first smoke morph post I was just heading out from my house for a walk with my dog and as we took two steps down the driveway I noticed a turkey walking fifty feet away down the middle of our quiet lane toward us. Well, the turkey saw us and did an about face and began its retreat, when it turned its back it caught the sunlight nicely in a striking display of near-white checkered lightly with dark highlights. Pretty bird indeed.
I said to myself, this can’t be a smoke morph here. Then I thought about trading in my dog for my camera but instead we just followed the smokey beast for a ways before it disappeared in some bushes. My dog got pretty worked up as she loves a turkey encounter as much as I do.
So, was it a smoke morph or was it partly leucisitic or are they intertwined in some way? Sure wish I’d gotten a photo, the light was great even with a suburban street background.
Your remembered memory card is a good reminder for us all, glad you caught it in time.
Dave, I don’t think they’re “intertwined” in some way. The two traits are controlled be completely different genes (alleles).
Next time I hope you get a photo or two.
Hooray for brain farts – though mine are very rarely as serendipitious as this one.
And hooray for smoke morphs and the photographers and viewers who realise that ‘differen’t is just fine. Fascinating even and not something to be reviled, shunned, destroyed. (sorry I am wearing a grumpy hat at our species this morning’.
Thanks, EC. That particular grumpy hat is a common adornment with me these days. I much prefer my magpie hat, if you know what I mean…
I “voyeured” what you did there! 😉
My sister lives in northern Idaho, has flocks of turkeys tromping thru the “yard” quite frequently — need to tell her to be on the lookout for one of these beauties!
PS—Got a good laugh out of WC’s AT experience, thanks for including the link.
WC tells a good story, Chris. And he has lot’s of them to tell.
Then I wish you luck.
Turkeys can be very wiley creatures and dense as rocks at the same time,..I’m always amazed how a small flock of them can get across a relatively busy road with their chicks unscathed…FRUSTRATION seems to be the mantra of all bird photographers..
“FRUSTRATION seems to be the mantra of all bird photographers.”
You’re right, Patty. Birds being birds and all…
Into each life brain farts happen–regularly, both big and little and for both good and evil! 😉
She’s quite the stunner! Here’s hoping she gets the opportunity to make more like her during her lifetime.
I hope so too, Laura. But it’s controlled by a recessive gene so she’d have to mate with a carrier to have smoky offspring.
Nice you remembered! I once formatted a card in error after I had taken some great shots of a Red-tailed Hawk. After I realized they were gone I think my brain made me think they were the finest in the world and I really felt bad. On reflection they probably were not, but the feeling took a few days to wear off.
I know that feeling too well, Ken. Poof, the photos no longer exist and they must have been award winners!
Very interesting! I didn’t know this coloration had a name! In our most recent neighborhood in Eugene’s south hills, we’ve long had a fairly sizable flock of turkeys… so much so that husband, Dan Gleason, may have regaled your readers as to his reduced fondness of them. (Shall we say we used to have a real poop deck!)
But just a week ago, my daughter called me to tell me there was a “blond” turkey hen in the “hood” (she lived half a block from us until we moved last week). I hadn’t been spending much time looking at turkeys amid my packing, moving, unpacking, house-fixing duties. But then, two days ago I also saw this bird.
She is not really as beautiful as your smoke-morph bird is, as she has none of the dark tips to her plumage, as I recall. But now I’ll look for her more studiously and try to get a quick photo of her to share.
I’ll alert my daughter to this post too; she may have gotten a better look at our blond variety!
Hi Barbara,
Yes, Dan has made his feelings about turkeys clear.
From my reading there’s apparently a fair amount of color variation in smoke morphs.
You and Dan have had more than your share of drama and turmoil over the last year or so. I hope things settle down for you very soon.
Not bad for a grab shot. Enjoyed your friend Jim’s missed opportunity story. Whether turkeys, Harriers, Kingfishers, whatever, it is the life of a bird photographer. Just as many stories of misses as successes.
“Just as many stories of misses as successes.”
At least as many, Everett. In my case, more.
Sometimes, so-called “inefficiency” pays off ! I’m glad you were a slow-
mover as to reformatting that card . I think that there are a LOT of occasions when creative people lose opportunities in the interest of
“getting on with business”. I like the sunstruck piece of juniper over
her head–it links her light, smoky body to her habitat, visually.
“Sometimes, so-called “inefficiency” pays off”
Then I should be a damn good photographer! 🙂
Good point about that lit up bit of juniper, Kris.
She’s so pretty. Any you, so funny’
Some folks don’t think she’s particularly attractive. But I do.
Beautiful photo of a beautiful bird and a good laugh at our sometimes forgetful brains! 🙂
Judy, I remembered using my other camera on that bird ONLY after I downloaded the images from the second card. Have no idea how I drew that blank, especially with such a significant bird. Age I guess…
And “other distractions” right now………. 😉 Not quite mature Bald Eagle across the creek this morning – “dirty” head, some dark still in it’s beak, and eyes not quite yellow yet. Wouldn’t have know that without the long lens on it. Tight eyelids that are swelling a bit compromise my vision still at times…… With luck it will “go away” with time…… 🙂