I was so enamored by the smoke morph hen Wild Turkey I photographed in the west desert mountains two days ago I went back yesterday to see if I could find the same turkeys again. I found them and her but it was a different turkey in the same flock that turned out to be the star of the show.
I’ve only seen two smoke morph Wild Turkeys ever. The first one was over thirty years ago. The second was yesterday.
I’ve still never photographed a Wild Turkey tom in full display but this guy came close and the light angle was perfect for revealing his colors.
I believe this is the only banded Wild Turkey I’ve ever photographed. I can read some of the band numbers and make a pretty good guess at the others.
When the light hits Wild Turkeys just right their colors can be downright impressive.
A bird potpourri of sorts, just to give you a feeling for some of the other birds I’ve been photographing in the last ten days.
These turkeys were using a feeding strategy that was both new to me and highly entertaining.
I’ve been monitoring a Red-tailed Hawk nest in the mountains of Tooele County for at least 7 years now. It isn’t close to the road and I never approach it on foot to avoid disturbing the hawks but I have a good view of it through my long lens.
Yesterday Wild Turkeys saved the day for me along Promontory Road. There sure wasn’t much else out and about to photograph.
Two subspecies of Wild Turkey are found in Utah, Merriam’s Turkey and the Rio Grande Turkey. They’re very similar in appearance and are best distinguished by their distinctive habitat requirements.
