Wild Turkeys

Meleagris gallopavo

Wild Turkeys are large, plump birds with long necks and small heads. The Wild Turkey is North America’s largest native upland game bird.

Spring Wild Turkey Photos With Snow

By |2023-04-04T04:59:10-06:00April 4th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Salt Lake County, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Three years ago by this date I was already taking Wild Turkey photos in the canyons of the sky island mountains of the West Desert of Utah.

Wild Turkey Hen Perched In A Netleaf Hackberry Tree

By |2022-02-04T06:24:48-07:00February 4th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Wild Turkeys|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Last month while up in Box Elder County looking for birds I spotted this Wild Turkey hen perched in a Netleaf Hackberry tree not long before noon.

Focusing On Fall Wild Turkey Tom Photos

By |2021-11-15T05:16:16-07:00November 15th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Wild Turkeys|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday morning the first birds I focused on taking photos of were Wild Turkey toms as they displayed for each other on desert ranchlands in northern Utah.

Fall Wild Turkey Hen Foraging On Desert Ranchlands

By |2021-10-19T05:47:35-06:00October 19th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Wild Turkeys|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The first photos I took with my newly refurbished Nikon D500 with a new shutter assembly were of this Wild Turkey hen foraging on desert ranchlands.

Autumn Wild Turkey Hen Portrait

By |2021-10-11T05:47:59-06:00October 11th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I found this Wild Turkey hen last autumn as she walked out of the shadows of the forest and into the bright morning light.

Spring Wild Turkey Tom Displays

By |2021-03-24T04:02:24-06:00March 17th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The last time I was up in the Wasatch Mountains I found a Wild Turkey tom displaying next to some old farm equipment for the nearby hens.

2020 Photographic Year In Review

By |2024-03-16T13:33:22-06:00December 31st, 2020|Categories: Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Bushtits, Common Loons, Cooper’s Hawks, Desert Tarantulas, Eastern Kingbirds, Elk, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ferruginous Hawks, Golden Eagles, Gray Catbirds, Great Blue Herons, Green Herons, Green-tailed Towhees, Merlins, Mountain Bluebirds, Nashville Warblers, Northern Harriers, Pine Siskins, Red Foxes, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Red-tailed Hawks, Ring-billed Gulls, Rusty Blackbirds, Short-eared Owls, Townsend's Solitaires, Uinta Ground Squirrels, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, West Desert, Wild Turkeys, Wildflowers, Yellow Warblers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This is my 2020 photographic year in review. I'm selecting some of my favorite photos from 2020 and a few that just make me happy to see them.

Kinglets And Turkeys Plus One Scrub-Jay

By |2023-01-11T17:41:55-07:00October 9th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jays|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Wild Turkeys and the Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay made the very bumpy and extremely dusty ride into the mountain canyons well worth taking.

Autumn Wild Turkey Close Up Photos

By |2021-10-11T06:04:34-06:00September 30th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

There were a few times when the Wild Turkeys stood upright and looked right at me as I photographed them and I took full advantage of the opportunity to take portraits of the large birds.

Finding Wild Turkey Hens Roosting In Aspens

By |2022-02-04T15:00:15-07:00April 18th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I got out into the field for a little while yesterday morning and because of the observation skills I have developed over many years I was able to find two Wild Turkey hens roosting in Aspen trees.

West Desert Wild Turkey Tom Strutting And Displaying

By |2021-02-27T15:53:27-07:00April 10th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I took hundreds of photos of the tom Wild Turkey fanning his tail, walking on the dirt road, strutting and displaying for the hens I could not see. And for those moments all seemed right in the world.

Smoke Phase Wild Turkey Hen Photos

By |2021-04-22T03:31:09-06:00April 3rd, 2020|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Someone at sometime had tossed a soda can into the junipers and the Wild Turkey hen walked right in front of it during the few seconds she was out in the open.

Smoke Phase Wild Turkey Hen Plus A Displaying Tom

By |2023-01-25T03:44:24-07:00April 2nd, 2020|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

If I hadn't have been paying attention yesterday I might have missed out on spotting a flock of turkeys in some junipers and photographing a smoke phase Wild Turkey hen.

Wild Turkeys, Hay Bales And The Noisy Diesel Pickup That Chased Them Away

By |2021-04-22T03:45:43-06:00February 9th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Etiquette, Utah, Wild Turkeys|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

In about the span of minute all of the Wild Turkeys had flown off of the bales of hay because of that noisy, diesel pickup truck being so close to them.

Small Flock Of Male Wild Turkeys With One Odd, Dark Tom

By |2021-03-10T09:05:53-07:00October 20th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Two days ago I spotted a Wild Turkey tom crossing a dirt road high up in the Stansbury Mountains and to my delight there were several more males following behind him.

West Desert Wild Turkey Hen At The Edge Of A Meadow

By |2021-04-22T03:52:29-06:00May 18th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

In my post about Chipping Sparrows, Wild Turkeys and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds earlier this week I mentioned that I had taken more photos of the turkey hen so this morning I thought I'd share one more photo of her.

Chipping Sparrows, Wild Turkeys and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds

By |2022-10-14T07:02:22-06:00May 15th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Chipping Sparrows, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The gems of my photographic journey yesterday morning were Broad-tailed Hummingbirds that were hanging around a Wax Currant bush next to the dirt road where the sounds of their wings alerted me to their presence.

2018 Year In Review For On The Wing Photography

By |2023-11-17T07:39:25-07:00December 31st, 2018|Categories: Baltimore Orioles, Birds, Brewer's Blackbirds, California Gulls, Cedar Waxwings, Northern Mockingbirds, Peregrine Falcons, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Say's Phoebes, Tundra Swans, Wild Turkeys, Yellow Warblers, Yellow-bellied Marmots|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

All in all, as 2018 comes to a close I realize how fortunate I am to see all the birds that I do throughout the year as a bird photographer, to be able to do what I love and to love my feathered subjects too.

Photographing Wild Turkeys In The Mountains

By |2021-04-22T03:26:50-06:00November 14th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Upland Game Birds, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I'm always glad to see and photograph Wild Turkeys and most of the time I see them more than I can photograph them because they are often too far away but some days it does work out that I can have them in my viewfinder and click the shutter release.

Let’s Talk Turkey About Wild Turkeys In A West Desert Canyon

By |2022-10-14T06:59:38-06:00September 12th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

I photographed a small flock of Wild Turkeys yesterday in the West Desert of Utah, specifically in a canyon of the Stansbury Mountains. I just never know when turkeys will show up and I am glad they did yesterday because I didn't photograph many other birds.

Wild Turkey Tom Strutting and Displaying Plus Memories Turkeys Arouse In Me

By |2021-04-22T03:20:39-06:00March 31st, 2018|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Breeding season has begun for Wild Turkeys so when I spotted a flock of them yesterday in the Stansbury Mountains in Tooele County I was hoping to photograph a tom turkey strutting.

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