[TN-Bird] Wild Turkey

  • From: James Brooks <comeback@xxxxxxxx>
  • To: Tenn Birds <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2004 08:07:33 -0400

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned in my column in the Johnson City Press 
seeing a Wild Turkey pursued by a silver phase red fox across my flower 
beds at Bear Run.
I have not mentioned subsequent sightings because I do not wish to 
become a hunting or poaching camp, but for bird watchers:
The next night a hen walked across Malone Hollow Road in front of me at 
dusk, going down to the creek for a drink.
Three days later, two hens and 8 poults crossed Old Boone's Creek Road 
in front of me, having been grazing in the pastures and returning to the 
ridge at Bear Run to roost.
Last night, while mowing in the front yard I heard turkeys clucking. 
Although I almost never go up onto the wooded ridge, so as not to 
disturb the wildlife, I couldn't resist this time, and tried stalking 
them. The clucks continued to come from up the ridge above me, and it 
wasn't until I climbed for about 5 minutes that I realized they were now 
behind and directly above me. They were roosting in the tops of the trees.
I tried imitating their clucks and calls, hoping to draw them down 
within sight, but they somehow didn't recognize my calling expertise and 
began to bail out of the trees in a thunderclap of wings, in pairs, 
going this way and that, with me just getting a glimpse of these bodies 
through the leaves, that one would not believe could fly. It reminded me 
of an equally unsatisfactory stalking of Brown Hornbill in the Khao Sok 
refuge in Southern Thailand: big, brown and treetop wary.
I did hear my neighbors down below shouting to one another each time 
there was a clap of wings, "Did you see that?"
Anyone needing Wild Turkey and willing to trek in the direction of 
Jonesborough at dusk, just respond directly to this post and I'll give 
you directions to the mythical Bear Run.
Moisture over the weekend has reinvigorated the Wood Thurshes and they 
were clucking at dawn today.  Or could it be that my turkey call was 
closer to that of a Wood Thursh?

James Brooks

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