On Thursday I was thrilled to capture this shot of a Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) as he waded across one of the small streams at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Out of the corner of my eye I had caught a glimpse of the another Wild Turkey that had opted to fly over the stream a moment earlier, so I was prepared when this turkey emerged from the woods and slowly made its way across the stream.
During his crossing, the turkey flapped his wings from time to maintain his balance and to generate a bit of extra momentum, I suspect. In the image below, the turkey had almost reached the far bank of the stream. I like the sense of movement in the shot that is heightened by the open wings, the forward lean of the body, and the “beard” hanging away from the body.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Oh wow, Mike! Great capture!
An unusual posture we don’t often see in a turkey, makes for a fantastic photo, Mike.
Thanks, Jet. It was really cool to witness the scene and I was a bit shocked that I managed to capture some shots of the turkey.
I’ve never seen that 👏👏. GreT shot.
Yeah, my IPad bit me again… Great shot 👍
Thanks, Ted. Fingers get in the way, especially on a touch screen and autocorrect sometimes produces unexpected text too. 🙂
Gobbler in the mud! Don’t see that very often.
Great timing to produce a terrific photograph!
Wonderful!