BAM! Turkey glamour KNOCKS me out in 1 photo

This stunner paraded by 20 minutes ago...

*swoon!*

Can't resist 2 more.

Never caught it perfectly focused, etc.,
but that back turns to orange/copper FIRE w/the right angle.

An embarrassment of riches, for sure.

xoxobb

bb dragged away in handcuffs?

Ah, apparently not.

This feather, that I collected (from the ground by my gym)

for the amusement of my (indoor) kitties, is not, I repeat,

not from a species protected by the migratory bird treaty act (MBTA).

Phew!

A kind facebook reader of my babblings had gently pointed out that

by collecting said feather I was breaking the law which,

oh-so-conveniently, I'd COMPLETELY forgotten about. 

Despite being a biologist. Yeah. A professional. Paid to know these things. Oops.

See, we're not allowed to have parts of any birds or their nests, etc.,

if they're protected by the MBTA. You, me, et al.

And most birds you'll see are on that list.

However, just figured out that this feather (and the others like it)

comes from a TURKEY!

You can see those feathers when the males drag their wings

in full display-to-the-ladies mode.

amazing photo by Yathin S Krishnappa

And turkeys are a) not native to this part of the U.S. and b) not migratory.

Though heaven knows I'd love to see them try.

So I did not break the law.

By total chance.

Which is fortunate, 'cause since then I forgot again,

and collected another big fatty from my neighborhood for the kitties.

So, I solemnly swear I'll be more aware of environmental laws in future,

and not allow my love for amused kitties to blind me.

=)

xobb

spring is for the birds

the clouds keep thinking it's winter: 2 days ago

but the birds know what's up.

The ladies, yesterday,

followed closely by the gentlemen, in glossy perfection.

Even the chickens are getting into gear.

Spring start up: big & little eggs.

Yesterday, they laid the 3 large ones at the top, 1 egg each.

I think their equipment is now officially warmed up for the season. =)

And tho' I have no photographs to prove it,

the yellow-rumped warblers are SO BRIGHT,

their sunny fannies and foreheads light up the yard.

Do you have any favorite signs of spring where you live?

Do tell. =)

bb

Cherchez la femme: wild turkey toms workin' it!

  

From just this morning:

The ladies.

As ever, leading the parade.

Gee, can you tell they TOTALLY KNOW I'm staring at them (from inside a house, behind a camera, crouched behind tall dresser)? I bet they've made many a hunter feel like a bumbling, crashing-through-the-woods amateur. They are so sharp.

Their suitors are not far behind...

 Mr. Poser on the right, looking spectacular.

Now cruising to catch up with the ladies...

... who are already exiting stage right...

Looking fabulous while speedily passing by.

Now the toms are stage right (in better light),
keeping a wary eye on me...

Oops, someone's hunkering down to pose, again.

And... here it is!

CHECK ME OUT!!!

Yeah, baby!

Oops, now it looks like the non-poser is gaining ground

due to his competitor's posing-obsession...

Denied! Poser POWER walks to retain his lead,
hugging the inside track.

And the chase continues, toward another patch of land.

The ladies leading the way, and Poser still workin' it.

Ah, spring!

And this completes today's installment of:

"Turkey Splendor in the Grass"

brought to you by our two sponsors,

Spring and DNA.

bb

Saw first-of-the-year turkey wooing at our house this a.m.!

(this is from April 3, 2009, so looks like they're right on schedule...)

He was trotting after females, of course, as the group skirted our house. Of course they saw us, so I didn't get a good shot. Apparently, turkeys have amazing eyesight, three times better than ours in daylight, tho' I cannot find a really solid (as in scientific study) source confirming this.

(Deer paying much more attention to bb crouching under a huge oak than the turkey was.)

While trying to find that citation (still looking, if you find one lemmeno via comments) I came this cool factoid at about.com:

"The wild turkey’s bald head can change color in seconds with excitement or emotion. The birds’ heads can be red, pink, white or blue."

(this is from April 5th, 2009, just about the same time of year.

pardon blurry smears from kitty nose prints on glass)

I had NO idea about this. And considering I'm a total sucker for cuttlefish (inCREDible manipulators of color), my interest is officially piqued.

I'm guessing the (sky blue) mood in the above photo translates to:

"I am SPEC-TAC-U-LAR!!!"

Hard to argue. =)


Welcome, Dancers of Spring!


=) bb

more recent visitors

  

These are the Jr. High school-aged turkeys I've mentioned which have been cruising around under the watchful eye of 2-3 adults. It's fun when all you can see of them is quivering grass.

 

First young fawn I've seen this summer.

Startled the (probably same) fawn this morning when I popped out of the back door to let the chickens out. The fawn SPRING leaped to its mom, behind the coop, and stayed there after they decided I was not there to harass them. =)

Better than tv.

biobabbler

our weekend guests

     

Gobbling punctuated the dawn...

Saw one FLY through the air first thing this a.m.--I think it saw me flip on lights and stagger toward coffee and it startled. THAT is a HUGE, brown thing to have hurtling through the air. Amazing.

Ever wary.

Poser:

Motivation:

Spring.

biobabbler

class canceled!

   
This a.m., moments ago, after having scraped the ice off my car (on May 10th??), I assumed that the (presumably) female turkey I'd seen squatting in the driveway (probably warming baby turkeys on an unseasonably cold morning) would be long gone, like the deer who had scattered. Turkeys are pretty wary.

No.

 Here she is, still not moving, eying me thinking "Oh, for Pete's sake, can you please just go away?!?"

I hoped all'd be well, I advanced VERY slowly in my little car, but saw one particular tiny baby turkey was not walking at all well (furthest left one, dark brown). Stumbling, faltering badly. Pitiful.

So I stopped. Backed up the Honda. Got out, took a picture, and left. Apparently the little creature needs more warming time.

Guess I'll pop in an exercise DVD instead.

It's the least I can do.

biobabbler

turkey trot

Yesterday I finally got myself to drive in costume (as "runner") to where I run. This is a beautiful landscape with pretty much no dogs, almost no traffic, and a gravel road with views of the mountains and a long field filled with pale mares. GORgeous. Decided NOT to do my little "getting to 5K" routine but just do the usual run 3 min, walk 1, repeat, gig. Fine.

At the very start, during my warmup walk I spied a turkey.

(Technically this is and others are from our property, spring 2009, but you get the picture.)

Then a few more.

(dig the freaky pale one!)

Then more; a brown river of turkeys was flowing in front of me.

They were clearly alarmed by my presence, and their group was divided by the road, so ones on my right were rushing for safe places to slide under fencing to rejoin their group. I took my earbuds out 'cause I figured they'd be chatting mightily via their (not so) little contact calls (my presumption re: function of calls). I was not disappointed, and stopped walking to calm them. And to absorb this event.

They are charming, and seemingly very attached to one another.

Finally, after much anxiety, panicked chortling, and mistrusting glances my way, the splinter group scuttled across the road and up the hill to reunite. I counted 24 in all.

They are beautiful. I do enjoy them in and of themselves, but, they do NOT belong here--not native west of the Sierras. This is a huge pet peeve of mine that Fish and Game is paid $$$ to plant NON-NATIVE species which compete with and potentially spread disease to NATIVE species including, oh, I don't know, the STATE BIRD?!?! (California quail, a ground-dwelling bird like the turkey) among others, plus who knows what they're doing to the invertebrate population (which did not evolve with these HUGE creatures), the stability of the litter layer, etc.

(Studs Turkey)

So, I don't dislike them (the turkeys or F&G). I think they're just trying to get along. But I deeply dislike this policy.

How is it okay? I'd really like to see an EIS for this...

Anyhow, that's one of the things I thought about as I then trotted down the trail to see my other running companions, the stunning grey mares. I will work on bringing a SMALL camera along 'cause this place is gorgeous, and I really should share. =)

In the mean time, this has been another (phew, somewhat cathartic!) installment of...

the biobabbler