Birdwatch By Susan Campbell

Turkey Time

A sur pr isingly wily wil d bird

By SuSa n Ca m pBel l Shorter days and cooler nights have many of us thinking about the holiday season. Thanksgiving is not that far off — and that means turkey. Most of us look for ward to feasting on the tender meat of this domesticated, large member of the fowl family. But its wild ancestors are a far cr y from the bird we prepare on the fourth Thursday of November each year.

A nyone who has had the oppor t unit y to taste a “rea l ” t urkey w ill tell you that there is no compar ison. But hunters who pursue the w ild birds are far more of ten sk unked than successf ul. Turkeys seem to have a si xth sense when being ca lled or decoyed in. Fooling one of these birds to get it w ithin range is one of the biggest cha llenges bird hunters (or photog raphers, for that mat ter) face.

T he w ild t urkey was ver y nearly our nationa l bird. It is, in fact, the only bird species native to the United States. Benjamin Frank lin nominated the t urkey for this honor but it lost in Cong ress, by only one vote, to the ba ld eagle back in the late 18th cent ur y.

A lthough the cultivated var iet y is completely white, sk it tish and not ver y br ight, forest- dwelling t urkeys are glossy black, war y and rather ag ile for a bird w ith a w ingspan of over 5 feet. T hey are t y pica lly found in mat ure forests w ith clear ings but take advantage of open fields as well. Turkeys forage on a var iet y of food, including insects, sma ll ber r ies, seeds and buds. Interestingly, one of their favor ite fa ll foods, acor ns, are of ten abundant in our par t of the state.

Indiv idua ls are well k now n to associate in large flock s of 50 or more birds. In the early spr ing, older ma les w ill at tract and at tend to and defend a flock of severa l fema les. At this time, they can be heard gobbling and str ut ting in their character istic puf fed-up post ure. Only dur ing the early par t of the breeding season, in Apr il and May, are the birds solitar y. Once the chick s hatch and reach about 4 week s of age, hens w ill gather together w ith their young and for m new agg regations.

In the early 1970s, there weren’t many more than a million t urkeys on the landscape. Persecution and habitat a lteration had resulted in dramatic reduction in the population. Now, throughout not only the United States but par ts of souther n Canada and nor ther n Mexico, there are seven times that many.

Here in the Old Nor th State, t urkeys can be found in a lmost ever y count y. In recent years, both the Tr iad and Tr iangle have exper ienced an influ x f rom the Uwhar r ie Mountains in the west as well as f rom the inner Coasta l Plain to the east. It is not sur pr ising that these big birds show up to take advantage of seed around bird feeders and forage in g rassy vegetation a long our roadways, as well as look ing for tender vegetation and insects in ag r icult ura l fields across the area. So, keep your eyes peeled — you, too, may spot one, or more, of these majestic birds here in centra l Nor th Carolina. PS Susan Campbell would love to receive your wildlife sightings and photos. She can be contacted at susan@ncaves.com.