tom – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Wild Turkey Portraits From Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge

By Mia McPherson|May 21st, 2025|Categories: Comanche County, Oklahoma, Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Wild Turkeys|Tags: adult, close up, male, Meleagris gallopavo, oak forest, portrait, Rio Grande, spring, tom, turkey, turkeys, upland terrestrial birds, Wild Turkey, woodlands|

I'm sharing a few Wild Turkey portraits taken last week near a creek at Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge in Comanche County, Oklahoma.

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Spring Wild Turkey Photos With Snow

By Mia McPherson|April 4th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Salt Lake County, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: adult, branches, desert, displaying, female, hen, high key, male, Meleagris gallopavo, mountans, road, sky island mountains, snow, snowstorm, snowy, spring, tom, tree, turkey, turkeys, upland terrestrial birds, urban, Wild Turkey|

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.

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Recent Wild Turkey Images

By Mia McPherson|October 14th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Wild Turkeys|Tags: adult, autumn, beard, canyon, close up, colors, creek, creekside, fall, long, male, Meleagris gallopavo, mountains, plumage, tom, turkey, turkeys, upland terrestrial birds, Wild Turkey|

On my three recent trips up into the Wasatch Mountains I have been able to take Wild Turkey images on two of the chilly mornings.

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Focusing On Fall Wild Turkey Tom Photos

By Mia McPherson|November 15th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Wild Turkeys|Tags: adult, autumn, behavior, close up, desert, displaying, face off, facing off, fall, male, Meleagris gallopavo, portrait, ranchlands, tom, turkey, turkeys, upland terrestrial birds, Wild Turkey|

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.

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Spring Wild Turkey Tom Displaying Photos

By Mia McPherson|April 21st, 2021|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, Wild Turkeys|Tags: adult, courtship behavior, courtship display, desert, dewlap, displaying, male, Meleagris gallopavo, snood, spring, tom, turkey, turkeys, upland terrestrial birds, Wild Turkey|

Yesterday morning I spent a bit of time observing and photographing this Wild Turkey tom strutting and displaying in Box Elder County, Utah.

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Spring Wild Turkey Tom Displays

By Mia McPherson|March 17th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: breeding display, courtship display, display, displaying, female, grasses, hen, junipers, male, Meleagris gallopavo, mountains, plumage variation, smoke phase, spring, strutting, tom, turkey, turkeys, upland terrestrial birds, Wild Turkey|

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.

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West Desert Wild Turkey Tom Strutting And Displaying

By Mia McPherson|April 10th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: beard, breeding display, breeding season, canyon, courtship display, displaying, fanned tail, fanning, feathers, gobble, junipers, male, Meleagris gallopavo, mountains, road, snood, snow, spring, spring snow, spurs, strutting, tail, tom, turkey, turkeys, Wild Turkey|

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.

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Smoke Phase Wild Turkey Hen (Smoke Morph) in Utah

By Mia McPherson|April 2nd, 2020|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: breeding display, courtship display, displaying, female, forest, grasses, hen, junipers, male, Meleagris gallopavo, morphs, mountains, mutations, plumage variation, recessive genes, smoke phase, smokey phase, smoky-gray phase, spring, tom, turkey, turkeys, upland terrestrial birds, Wild Turkey|

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.

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Wild Turkey Tom Foraging After A Snowfall

By Mia McPherson|November 5th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: autumn, banded, fall, flock, flocks, foraging, forest, male, Meleagris gallopavo, mountains, snow, Stansbury Mountains, tom, turkey, turkeys, upland terrestrial birds, Wild Turkey|

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.

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

By Mia McPherson|October 20th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: alert, autumn, colorful, dark, fall, food, introduced, male, Meleagris gallopavo, mountains, native, non-native, road, sky island mountains, Stansbury Mountains, strutting, tom, turkey, turkeys, upland terrestrial birds, very dark, walking, Wild Turkey|

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.

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

By Mia McPherson|March 31st, 2018|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: displaying, junipers, Meleagris gallopavo, Meleagris gallopavo intermedia, mountains, Rio Grande, sagebrush, Southwestern, strutting, tom, turkey, turkeys, upland terrestrial birds, Wild Turkey|

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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Wild Turkeys in Utah

By Mia McPherson|November 2nd, 2016|Categories: Birds, Dixie National Forest, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, Wayne County, West Desert, Wild Turkeys|Tags: canyons, female, hen, junipers, male, pond, tom, turkeys, upland terrestrial birds, Wild Turkey, woods|

Maybe next time I up in the canyons I will get lucky and spot some of the Wild Turkeys that make their home in the Stansbury Mountains.

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Wild Turkeys In The Stansbury Mountains

By Mia McPherson|October 13th, 2015|Categories: Birds, Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah, Wild Turkeys|Tags: adult, autumn, canyon, close up, fall, junipers, mountains, portrait, sky island mountains, Stansbury Mountains, tom, turkey, upland terrestrial birds, Wild Turkey|

Yesterday while up in one of the canyons of the Stansbury Mountains some movement caught my eye and when I looked closely I could see a small flock of Wild Turkeys in the junipers.

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