Sometimes a Great Gobble...

The sound of gobbling caught my attention yesterday morning and I looked out the bedroom window to see two big boys strutting their stuff,

We counted over thirty turkeys in all and I was far more fascinated by the gobblers than were the rest of the flock.

The two big boys stayed side by side much of the time and wheeled and advanced on the ladies with a slow and stately step.

It was like some ancient ceremonial dance, involving large fans.  I snapped and snapped, wishing I were closer.

Then some of the flock noticed me and took wing. Amazing to see how well these big birds fly!

The courting gobblers were not to be deterred. They just herded their harem away from me and continued with their dance.

 

Where'd It Go?

Look what I found on the floor by my laptop!

Miss Susie Hutchins is not amused.

"I left it right here," she mutters. "But that's not it . . .

The Critters Awww Scale

Critters -- or creatures -- are marvelous things, enriching our lives in so many ways just by being around and being themselves.  Cute fluffy kittens, gangling turkey poults, a bandit raccoon, a lumbering box turtle -- they can all be a source of delight.

But there's something about those moments of communication between different species that tends to make us go 'Awww...' and smile and maybe feel a little better about life in general. 

 

I know I feel that way when I see Eddie the cat snuggling with one of our dogs ... and this picture from an unknown source of a young deer that comes every morning to visit his friend the cat sure elicited a big Awww . . .

 But as far as I'm concerned, this video below -- another of those internet wanderers -- went right off the Awww scale.  Awesome!

My, How They've Grown!

The young turkey poults are growing, as my older neighbors used to say, 'like one thing!'

The first time I saw the two hens and their brood, I counted fourteen babies. Now there seem to be eleven -- not bad, considering all the predators out there. 

They've learned to be wary -- as  soon as I stepped out on the deck to get  a picture, they  began moving away, without even waiting for their mamas.

I have high hopes for their continued survival!

 

A Popular Hangout

Yesterday afternoon I looked out the bedroom window and saw two turkey hens scratching around beneath the bird feeder. It had been quite a while since they'd visited and I was happy to see they were still around.

A closer look showed what they'd been up to -- each had  a bunch of poults with her.

One  led her brood off as soon as she saw me at the window,  the babies scurrying after her through the tall grass. 

The other hen continued to excavate for birdseed, stopping now and again to keep an eye on me. I counted at least 14 poults in all and there may well have been more.

 A little later, I looked out to see if the turkeys were still there.  No, they weren't . . .

 But Ali Ali and a reckless young raccoon were.

 I'm in a tight spot now! says the reckless young raccoon.

 

 Gotta get out of this place . . .

 Luckily, Ali Ali allowed himself to be called away and put inside . . .

And the reckless young raccoon scuttled for the safety of the nearest tall tree.

The Great Backyard Possum Count

Seen again at the birdfeeder -- one Spotsford O. Possum . . . who sincerely wishes I would find someone else to photograph . . .

Look at his face . . . he's muttering to himself as he hurries away. "That blankety-blank woman!"

"How's a possum supposed to make a living with blankety-blank paparazzi all over the blankety-blank place? Oh, my little pink feet are blankety-blank cold!"

Also seen during the Great Backyard Bird Count: Cardinals, Blue Jays, Nuthatches, Goldfinches, Tufted Titmice, Purple Finches, Rufous-Sided Towhees, Wild Turkeys, Mourning Doves, Brown Thrashers, Carolina Chickadees, Carolina Wrens, Black-Eyed Juncoes, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Downy Woodpeckers, Pine Siskins and a bunch af sparrows, but which kind, I couldn't say.

Ali Ali and the Chipmunk

Ali Ali, the mighty hunter. Motionless, never-tiring, invisible. he eyes his prey.

Oh, great, look who's here . . . the Terror of the Birdfeeder . . . a legend in his own mind.

Ali Ali -- an ebony statue, a frozen image, not a quiver of his flanks to give him away -- fixes the hapless rodent with his steely gaze.

Jeez.
Here I am with my mouth all watered up for some sunflower seeds, and Mr. Mighty Hunter has to show up.
Yo! Get a life, you stupid mutt!

Deaf to taunts but ever alert, the tireless Nimrod waits for the quivering beast to -

I'm outta here.

Eddie and the Turkeys

Sounds kinda like a punk rock band, doesn't it?

But this post is about something that happened a week ago right out by our bird feeder. The pictures aren't great -- I was taking them from a distance and through a window screen -- but if you click on them to biggify (still love that word, Tammy), you'll get a better idea of the cast of characters.

So, it's late morning and Eddie, the ex-tomcat, is crouched by the bird feeder working on his life list. And four turkeys are working on the sunflower seed. (Eddie is the black blob center right.)

The turkeys are pecking and scratching and having a fine old time and Eddie is laying low -- imagining, no doubt, what glory would be his if he could bring down one of these birds.

Finally the turkeys decide to move on to the front yard and they start down the little dog trail. They seem to notice Eddie but don't appear to be at all disturbed by the presence of this fierce beast of prey -- this deadly stalker.

They take their time, looking around to make sure that everyone's in line. Eddie maintains his crouch.

What happened next went so quickly I didn't get a picture of it. As all four turkeys got onto the trail and started downhill, Eddie charged at the last one -- which squawked, made a little hop, and spun around ready to peck at the attacker.

Suddenly Eddie seemed to notice that he was severely outclassed. He dropped, flattening himself against the grass till he looked like a catskin rug.

And stayed that way as the turkeys continued their leisurely promenade down the trail. Only when they were around the corner and out of sight did Eddie break his freeze position and hightail it for the house.

Next time, I think he'll want backup. Or a gun.

Forty Wild Turkeys

Forty wild turkeys, grazing their way across a hill just above the road! I had to stop and take their picture. (Couldn't get all of them in the shot but there really were forty, cross my heart!)

Wildlife has made a big comeback in our area as the old farms grow up and pastures and fields become tangles of multiflora rose, hateful stuff to us but a safe haven for many creatures.

Our summertime view -- masses of green trees with only an occasional clearing -- isn't what folks would have seen a hundred years ago. Back then, all but the very steepest slopes were laboriously cleared and put to pasture, hay, or crops.

Clifford, who farmed this land before us, told of cutting hay on a slope so steep that he had to tie a long rope to his mowing machine and station two of his big sons uphill from him, hanging on to the rope to keep the mowing machine from tipping over.

Now those were farmers!