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Posts Tagged ‘Meleagris gallopavo’

Displaying Wild Turkey

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on April 3, 2018| 7 Comments »

I was amazed and thrilled yesterday when I spotted an impressively large male Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) putting on a showy display at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge near the edge of an open field. I suspect the lady turkeys were impressed too.

I have seen wild turkeys multiple times at this wildlife refuge, but generally it has been groups of females and their offspring. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website, “Courting males gobble to attract females and warn competing males. They display for females by strutting with their tails fanned, wings lowered, while making nonvocal hums and chump sounds. Males breed with multiple mates and form all-male flocks outside of the breeding season, leaving the chick-rearing to the females.” I was not able to get close enough to hear any gobbling, but the visual display by itself was stunning.

Spring is the season for love and I will be on the lookout as more male birds try to outdo their competitors and find mates using their brilliant colors, musical calls, or elaborate courting rituals.

Wild Turkey

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

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Foraging wild turkey

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on March 17, 2018| 4 Comments »

This past Monday I was thrilled to catch a glimpse of several large wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) foraging in a field just off of the road early in the morning as I was driving into Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I stopped the car, grabbed my camera, and leaned out of the window, but was unable to frame a shot. I quietly got out of the car and was able to capture several images of one of them before they sensed my presence and scurried into the treeline and out of my sight.

wild turkey

wild turkey

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Male Wild Turkey

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on March 10, 2018| 9 Comments »

I heard some rustling deep in the heavy brush this morning at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and then caught sight of some bright colors—it was a male wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) along with several females. Focusing manually, I managed to get this shot.

Although I would have liked to get an unobstructed view of this magnificent bird, I actually like the way that the blurry vegetation creates a soft vignette that draws the viewer to the head of the turkey.

Wild Turkey

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Wild Turkeys in November

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on November 8, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Now that it is November, many Americans will start to think of turkeys, and in particular the ones that they will consume on Thanksgiving Day.  I have nothing against eating turkey, but I shudder to think of the conditions under which domesticated turkeys are raised—it is much more exciting to see Wild Turkeys in the wild.

As I wander the trails at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I have gotten used to encountering small flocks of Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) from time to time at several different locations. One of the volunteers with whom I talked estimated that there are over a hundred Wild Turkeys within the 642 acres (2.6 sq km) of the refuge.

When I see them, the turkeys are usually foraging along the paths and in open areas of the woods. Most often the turkeys move into the woods as soon as they sense my presence, but occasionally I can move close enough to them to get shots of individual turkeys. Lighting is often a challenge, because the sunlight filtering through the trees creates bands of intense light and shadows.

Here are a couple of my favorite shots from this past Monday—I really like the display of feathers in the first image and the regal upright pose in the second shot.

Wild Turkey

Wild Turkey

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Not quite hidden

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on October 7, 2017| 3 Comments »

A small flock of wild turkeys yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge moved off of the trail and into the woods as I approached. Peering through the vegetation a few seconds later, I was able to catch a glimpse of one of them that may have though it was well hidden.

It would be hard for me to say that Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) are beautiful, but they sure do have a distinctive look.

wild turkey

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Flock of wild turkeys

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on October 1, 2017| 11 Comments »

As I looked down one of the trails yesterday morning at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I spotted a group of large birds sprawled across the entire width of the trail. Having seen Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) a couple of times at this refuge, I correctly identified them, but I couldn’t figure out what they were doing. I later learned from the website of the National Wild Turkey Federation that wild turkeys use dust baths as part of their preening and plumage maintenance.

wild turkey

I tried to be stealthy and moved quietly forward, but the trail was wide and clear and the turkeys became aware of my presence. The flock slowly moved away— several of the turkeys flapped their wings to get a little additional momentum. I was uncertain if wild turkeys can fly and was surprised to learn from one internet source that wild turkeys can fly swiftly, with a maximum speed of 55 miles per hour (88 kph) and can run up to 25 mph (40 kph).

wild turkey

After a brief period of frantic movement, the birds settled down and began to forage. They seemed a little confused and looked around in different directions. When I got a bit closer, they eventually decided to move into the woods and did so in a rather leisurely fashion.

wild turkey

I could not tell for certain, but it looked to me that this flock of turkeys was made up of females and juveniles—I did not see any of the turkeys that look like the stereotypical male turkeys that are featured in the run-up to Thanksgiving. I will be alert for any sign of those males during future trips to this wildlife refuge.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Wild Turkey

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on September 22, 2017| 1 Comment »

I never know what I will see when I go out with my camera. This morning at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge I spotted a small flock of Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo). They disappeared into the brush as soon as they became aware of my presence, but I did manage to capture a few images. I pretty sure that the turkey in both of these shots is a female.

Wild Turkey

Wild Turkey

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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