On Christmas Day Jan and I went to her folks' place for a "round robin" Christmas Dinner. The main course was at her sister Karen and brother-in-law Frank's house. I had heard that they had "adopted" a tom turkey recently (or rather I think the turkey adopted them), and I was anxious to see if I could get a shot or two of the bird.
Normally, I think that turkeys are pretty secretive, preferring to stay far away from humans and their habitat. But this one seems to have taken over Karen and Frank's yard, and is very protective of his "space."
As I moved quietly closer to the turkey, he noticed me and immediately displayed his tail feathers, and began to quietly gobble (I guess that's the term for it), moving back and forth in a diagonal pattern. As he weaved back and forth toward me, I got the impression he wasn't very happy I was there.
As he moved closer to me, I moved away from him. We "danced" like that until he began to lunge toward me to peck. I took one last portrait shot, and then stomped and yelled at him and he ran off behind one of the cars.
Frank says the turkey is fond of sneaking up behind him as he reads the paper in the hammock. Maybe if I took the time, the tom would eventually learn to tolerate me being around. I hope you like the photos, and I hope your Christmas holiday was filled with good cheer.
All the best,
Mike Z
Posts
