Although there are quite a few Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, they tend to pretty elusive and I never quite know when I will encounter one. I spotted two large turkeys on Monday and was happy to be able to snap off a few shots before they disappeared into the underbrush.
The “beard” of this turkey is quite impressive in its length, so it is most likely a mature male—as is the case with humans, most female wild turkeys do not have beards. A turkey’s beard grows throughout its life and can reach a length of over 12 inches (30 cm).
Apparently you can also tell the age of a male wild turkey by the size of its spurs, the pointy protrusions on the lower portion of a turkey’s legs. If you click on the second image, you can get a better look at this turkey’s spurs that are quite prominent, again signifying that this is a mature male, probably at least a couple of years old.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Wonderful to see this magnificent bird, Mike, with such closeness and detail. Turkeys are often so super skittish, it’s hard to capture them.
Thanks, Jet. It is rare for me to get such a good look at a wild turkey, though I see them fairly regularly. Each spring, I try to get a shot of the males displaying, with their tail feathers fanned out. I have managed to capture such images only a few times, including this shot from a few years ago. https://michaelqpowell.com/2018/04/03/displaying-wild-turkey/
Thanks for the wonderful photo of the impressive male turkey displaying, Mike. What an incredible flurry of color and texture. I find it amazing to watch the male fan out and strut. I witnessed it on my birthday this year, which was very special to see.
Nice captures, Mike! Turkeys can be more elusive than warblers, quickly fading into the background.
Thanks, Ellen. Warblers are tougher for me, probably because of their tiny size. Still, it can be frustrating to try to photograph a turkey, because even when I see them, they tend to have their heads down in a very non-photogenic pose.
I don’t think I will ever forget the first time we spooked a wild turkey out of the brush when we were hiking with the Scouts. The whooping of their wings taking off was quite an experience.
Wow! That’s quite a memory. I have only spooked a turkey so much that it took to the air. I was shocked, because I had never seen a turkey fly. In this case it flew only a short distance and perched ln a nearby tree.
Nice crisp shots 😃. I only see them in deep shade 60000000 ISO spots. 👍
Thanks, Ted. The turkeys at “my” wildlife refuge seem to like to peck about on some of the trails and I encounter them fairly regularly, though it is surprisingly tough to get a decent shot of one, considering how large they are.
Nice shots! I’ve had no luck trying to get decent images of the wild turkeys around here. They are absolutely very elusive.
Thanks. I see turkeys fairly often at this wildlife refuge, but most of the time they disappear from sight long before I am able to get within camera range.
Great shots, Mike!
Thanks, Dan.
I think I may have already shared this with you because it’s not a new Nature episode, but “My Life as a Turkey” was aired recently and I found it as entrancing as I did when it was first aired. https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/my-life-as-a-turkey-introduction/7268/ What I can’t figure out is how they reproduced it with an actor (and a raft of turkey actors???).
I have heard about this episode, but have not yet watched it. I will definitely have to check it out. Thanks for the recommendation.