{"id":49098,"date":"2017-10-22T05:04:24","date_gmt":"2017-10-22T11:04:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=49098"},"modified":"2025-10-18T08:29:29","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T13:29:29","slug":"wild-turkeys-in-northern-utah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/10\/22\/wild-turkeys-in-northern-utah\/","title":{"rendered":"Wild Turkeys in Northern Utah"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AutumnAutumn Wild Turkey on a grassy hillside – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited or called in
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a fine autumn morning for photographing Wild Turkeys in northern Utah yesterday because the skies were mostly clear and the turkeys were a bit more cooperative than usual. I don’t get many opportunities with turkeys so when I see them, I photograph them.<\/p>\n

\"NorthernNorthern Utah Wild Turkey – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited or called in<\/span><\/p>\n

I like photographing these large, upland game birds but this flock in particular was challenging because the habitat I found them in was brushy, rocky, and hilly and that meant they could hide easily. It is frustrating to know they are there when you can’t get clean shots of them.<\/p>\n

\"HenHen Wild Turkey on an Autumn day – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited or called in<\/span><\/p>\n

When I can, I’m happy. I wish this bird’s head stood out more from the cliff face behind it but I’m still happy with the photo.<\/p>\n

The Wild Turkeys in northern Utah are mostly the Southwestern subspecies and they are also called Rio Grande Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo intermedia<\/em>).<\/p>\n

\"WildWild Turkey flying past a cliff face – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited or called in<\/span><\/p>\n

I had plenty of missed opportunities with turkeys in flight yesterday on the Promontory Peninsula. By that I mean I clipped a lot turkey body parts while they flew past because they were close, I had better luck with the turkeys that were a bit father away from me.<\/p>\n

\"FlyingFlying Wild Turkey in Utah – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited or called in<\/span><\/p>\n

Fun fact: Did you know that young Wild Turkeys can fly at just 10 days old when they are much smaller than the adults? That helps them avoid predators and enables them to fly up into trees to roost at night.<\/p>\n

\"WildWild Turkey hen in flight – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited or called in<\/span><\/p>\n

Of the Wild Turkey<\/span><\/a> flight photos I took yesterday I think I like this one the best because the bird stands out well from the cliff face behind it. Honestly though, considering how fast they fly, I was just happy to get several sharp images of them in flight.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Wild Turkey photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was a fine Autumn morning for photographing Wild Turkeys in northern Utah yesterday because the skies were mostly clear and the turkeys were a bit more cooperative than usual.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":160773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1148,26,3793],"tags":[4004,970,4052,4122,4359,751,3795,6187,16903,6432,6186,3796,5501,401,3794],"class_list":["post-49098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-utah","category-wild-turkeys","tag-adult","tag-autumn","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-hen","tag-hillside","tag-meleagris-gallopavo","tag-meleagris-gallopavo-intermedia","tag-promontory-peninsula","tag-rio-grande","tag-rio-grande-wild-turkeys","tag-turkey","tag-turkeys","tag-upland-game-birds","tag-wild-turkey"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/wild-turkey-flight-mia-mcpherson-0635.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-cLU","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":96163,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/10\/11\/autumn-wild-turkey-hen-portrait\/","url_meta":{"origin":49098,"position":0},"title":"Autumn Wild Turkey Hen Portrait","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 11, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I found this Wild Turkey hen last autumn as she walked out of the shadows of the forest and into the bright morning light.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Autumn Wild Turkey hen portrait, West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wild-turkey-hen-autumn-mia-mcpherson-5183.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wild-turkey-hen-autumn-mia-mcpherson-5183.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wild-turkey-hen-autumn-mia-mcpherson-5183.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wild-turkey-hen-autumn-mia-mcpherson-5183.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":43024,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/11\/07\/box-elder-county-wild-turkeys\/","url_meta":{"origin":49098,"position":1},"title":"Box Elder County Wild Turkeys","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Finding a flock of Wild Turkeys close enough to photograph in the Promontory Mountain Range of Box Elder County yesterday was exciting and challenging too.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Wild Turkeys on a cliff, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/wild-turkeys-box-elder-county-mia-mcpherson-1446.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/wild-turkeys-box-elder-county-mia-mcpherson-1446.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/wild-turkeys-box-elder-county-mia-mcpherson-1446.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/wild-turkeys-box-elder-county-mia-mcpherson-1446.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":137565,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/11\/28\/wild-turkey-images-happy-thanksgiving-2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":49098,"position":2},"title":"Wild Turkey Images – Happy Thanksgiving 2024","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 28, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Today, I'm sharing Wild Turkey images of foraging hens I found in the Stansbury Mountains of northern Utah because it's Thanksgiving Day. It was a lovely day.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Foraging Wild Turkey hen in the mountains of the West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/wild-turkey-hen-west-desert-mia-mcpherson-1433.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/wild-turkey-hen-west-desert-mia-mcpherson-1433.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/wild-turkey-hen-west-desert-mia-mcpherson-1433.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/wild-turkey-hen-west-desert-mia-mcpherson-1433.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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up into the Wasatch Mountains I have been able to take Wild Turkey images on two of the chilly mornings.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tom Wild Turkey with a really long beard, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/wild-turkey-pasture-mia-mcpherson-9078.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/wild-turkey-pasture-mia-mcpherson-9078.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/wild-turkey-pasture-mia-mcpherson-9078.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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