STARE WITHOUT A BLINK

WILD IN THE WOODS

The only visitors we get these days when the drive up to our place is still full of snow 

-- are the quirky wild turkeys.

The largest birds in North America.

They are long legged, small headed.  The males are

called gobblers, the females, hens.

They appear around the house and fly up to squat

down on the deck or sit on the wood railing to stare at us.

It’s the males who bulk themselves up to attract the

females. Look close enough you’ll see it’s the females

who have the beards.

        They weigh 18 to 22 pounds with a wingspan, of

five feet.

In the spring the males get together in clearings

to form courtship displays to attract females: puffing

themselves up and fanning out their tails and making

gobbling sounds.

Writer’s comment: Nor are they fussy eaters. They

munch on hickory or beech  nuts, acorns, fruit,

snails and worms. They come packed with some 6,000

feathers. Not that I counted them.