Male Wild Turkey giving me the eye – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Six days ago I was happy to see three flocks of Wild Turkeys and the smallest flock was in good light, at the edge of a forest and they were cooperative. The other two flocks I had zero luck with. The first flock was in the shadow of a rather large peak of a mountain and that was disappointing because the toms were calling and displaying. The second flock disappeared before I could photograph them, turkeys move fast when they want to and that flock wanted to make tracks.
The flock of turkeys I did photograph were foraging, preening and warming up in the sunlight. It had been a colder than normal night, record breaking actually, so I bet the sun felt good on their dark feathers.
At first I focused on the tom turkey because I noticed he had a rainbow of colors on some of his wing feathers.
Wild Turkey tom foraging after a snow storm – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
I noticed that the light snow had partially melted. The day before when I was up there the ground had been white. The tom didn’t seem to mind the snow at all as he foraged at the edge of the forest.
Wild Turkey tom in the snow – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Male Wild Turkeys provide no parental care for their young but this tom seemed to keep an eye on the hens and their young, perhaps that was because he was the only tom in the small flock. These turkeys were so close that when they moved towards me I was able to take head shots of the tom. More photos from this small flock will probably land on my blog or photo galleries soon.
Taking these turkey images on Halloween morning was a real treat.
Life is good.
Mia
P.S., I did see the band on this tom’s left leg but I was unable to read the band code in my photos.
Click here to see more of my Wild Turkey photos plus facts and information about this species.
Thank you. Yet another bird I am unlikely to see.
Those are good photos Mia. They are amazing bird to watch. They run pretty fast and start flying, which is funny considering their size. Have several groups of wild turkeys that travel thru Sheridan,Wy all year long. They even go down town looking for food.
Great use of light!
This year I didn’t see many Wild Turkey poults. Three in one flock and four in another flock. I usually see upwards of thirty in those two flocks. Scary.
Liz, that is worrisome.