The setting for this series, photographed yesterday morning in the mountains, is cluttered with branches and twigs but that’s part of the point of this post.
1/2000, f/7.1, 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
In the early part of the morning we found two hen Wild Turkeys perched high in the still-bare trees. Both birds were buried in masses of branches and twigs, to the point that they were difficult to see and almost impossible to focus on.
My best hope for even slightly interesting photos was to prefocus on one of them and then take my thumb off the focusing button (I use back button autofocus) and hope it would take off in the same plane it was perched. Even then my chances of getting unobstructed shots were slim to nonexistent but I tried anyway. What did I have to lose?
I’m only including this first photo of the turkey beginning to take off and fly to the ground to show what a tangle of branches and twigs she was perched in.
1/2000, f/7.1, 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
Getting out of that mess was slow for a bird taking off so 1/10th of a second later she hadn’t made a lot of progress. I like the way she’s reaching out for freedom with her left leg.
1/2000, f/7.1, 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 the most “out in the open” shot in the series.
1/2000, f/7.1, 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
Her attempt to get out of there was noisy as her wings and body crashed through the branches and we see an old leaf falling below her tail that had been dislodged by her struggle to escape her twiggy prison (that leaf can be seen still attached between her legs in the previous photo.)
With all the branches and twigs so close to her I’d have had little chance to get her sharp if my focus point had been active.
1/2000, f/7.1, 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
After this shot I lost her in all the branches. She flew to the ground and joined her companion who had abandonded her perch high in an adjacent tree a few seconds earlier.
Getting out of there in one piece was quite an accomplishment for such a huge and ungainly bird but I imagine it paled in comparison to getting up there in the first place. My guess is that both turkeys roosted in their lofty perches the previous night and hadn’t yet left when we found them.
I can’t imagine how they were able to get up there the previous evening without injuring a wing. Or a leg. It’s no wonder that their feathers sometimes look scruffy and beat to hell.
Ron
Addendum: My friend Jim DeWitt made in insightful comment on this post on Facebook – “I’ve always thought the choice of night time roost was a calculation: how hard can the bird make it for a predator to get in. Worry about getting out in the morning if you are still alive.”
Wiley birds…you were lucky to get such great shots…
Yup, I was lucky, Patty.
Didn’t know Turkeys roosted in trees. I learn more about them with every post. Hope to see one in person some day (outside of a supermarket, that is).
Yeah, they’re a lot more interesting in the field than in a store, Lyle.
I think these photographs are superb as I know how difficult it is to maintain any sort of focus in such a situation.
The turkeys are amazing at finding protected perching spots like this, but, I swear, when walking through the woods just before sunrise one can hear the silly gobblers mumbling to one another a quarter mile away! Would seem to defeat their expertise in finding a hidden perch.
Thank you, Ron, for sharing your wonderful photographs!
Yeah, doesn’t make much sense does it Wally. Thank you.
Luck’s always plays a role in bird photography, Patty.
I really like your friend Jim DeWitt’s comment. Hide if you can and make it as difficult as possible if you can’t. And both make it difficult for the paparazzi too.
Just because of the obstructions (which I know you normally loathe) this is yet another fascinating series.
Thanks, EC. Actually the obstructions are part of this story but you’re right – normally I sure don’t like them.
I have watched them roost for the night, it is an amazing feat. They fly up to a more exposed branch then continue to flap, hop up higher in the tree. They will walk, hop and try to maintain balance with their wings and go into a denser area of branches and twigs. often they will step onto a small branch that will not hold their weight and they partial fall, trying to catch their balance by flapping wings in dense branches is not easy for them. I like to watch how they pause and look around for their next calculated step after a slip. You can almost see the cogs going in their brain.
Very interesting, April.
It is amazing to see such a big bird negotiate these perches. I’ve often seen them headed to roost in the tall conifers above our old house. It is always surprising to see these big turkeys take off from the ground and fly to a branch that can be 80 or more feet above the ground. They fly to an open branch, then work their way closer to the center of the tree and eventually disappear in the midst of branches. If I hadn’t seen them go in I wouldn’t know they were there. When the young hatch, then the hens stay on the ground at night to help protect them, but those wings develop very quickly so that the young are able to follow the adults into the trees soon.
Thanks for continuing to bring us a bright spot to look forward to each day in these hard times. It’s much appreciated.
Had a laying hen accidentally get locked out one evening and found her the next morning about 8′ up in a VERY twiggy spruce (deer damage) right by the house – NO idea how she got there but did get down!
Dan, I wondered if they landed in a more convenient and easier spot and then worked their way into the thicker parts. That explains some things.
A turkey and flying….two things that do not seem should go together❗️I wonder if it was intentional landing spot or oh crap 🤔
Take Care All
I know what you mean about turkeys and flying, Diana.
It’s amazing to me that they can fly at all. That’s a lot of weight to get up off the ground, but that just shows you the power of wings (I WANT wings!!) and that Nature almost always wins. I suspect Mr. DeWitt is right. The bigger consideration is safety from predators! But with the hawks, I’m often amazed at the ease with which they can extricate themselves from tangles. Stuff that I just know will require the use of my pruning shears (hawking gear in my vest) proves to be no problem for them. They just work through it as I’m locating the pruning shears–now which pocket are they in? LOL!
Just to reiterate again (being ridiculously redundant one more time), I just love your blog. It’s a bright spot in my day, especially given that my life’s objectives are to concentrate on the beauty of life and to learn something new every day!!!
Laura, I agree with you about the amazing ability of many raptors to negotiate tight places, including in flight. And thank you for the kind words about my blog.
So, I never knew they roosted in trees. How lovely to learn something new!
I suspect they sometimes roost in deep cover too, Arwen – especially when trees aren’t available.
Huge and ungainly is an apt description. An amazing escape from those trees without injuring a wing. Excellent series. Unless you are a photographer or hunter you would never even see them. New birds are popping up every day here as the spring migration heats up.
“Unless you are a photographer or hunter you would never even see them”.
That’s exactly right, Everett. Based on their behavior I’m sure they assumed we hadn’t seen them at first. Until I stopped my pickup, then they started getting just a little nervous and eventually flew to the ground.
WOW! Just jaw-dropping WOW! How on earth she got up there, let alone down without getting hung up or injured is beyond me! Amazing (and beautiful) creatures they are! 🙂
Figured out the hawk hanging around is an immature Northern Goshawk. It was MOST unhappy yesterday morning when dog sent the cottontail it was after for breakfast scurrying for cover…. 😉
So jealous of your goshawk, Judy. I rarely see them.
Of course, no camera and it sat on top of an old tractor for quite awhile hoping for another chance at the rabbit! I was impressed………. 🙂
A goshawk on an old tractor in Montana. This bird photographer and Montana farm boy would be drooling buckets over the photographic possibilities…
‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way’! I’m always amazed at the movements of birds…where and how especially like your two turkeys. Makes you wonder how they managed to get up there or even visualize enough space to roost in that mess of twigs and branches. Just how they can look up, see the space needed for them (just how they know their own size is another thing) and manage the ascent without injury…mind boggling! Great series of photos. I’ve seen Great Blue’s flying through wetland forests unscathed and get the same feeling of wonder.
Well said, Kathy. And imagined.