Got back mid afternoon Tuesday after scouting spots on the Fox for a potential waterfowl hunting trip. I’ve been living on the same street in Yorkville for 5 years. The two houses we’ve rented are on the edge of a wooded ravine that gets visited by turkey and deer. The house we’re in now is about 100 feet from the ravine, the first one was right on the edge.
We’ve always kept the wildlife well fed. Corn and a variety of seeds kept the turkey and deer coming back on a daily basis when we were in the other house. Since we moved, it’s been a little more difficult to coax the turkey out into the open. The deer we hardly see anymore.
Persistence pays off and the turkey have been venturing out into the neighborhood. Every year they bring their new brood to an area where they know they are safe and well fed, we see them each spring, then they hang around for most of the year. I wish I could have them tagged, would be interesting to know if they are the same ones returning year after year.
As I pulled into my driveway I had to wait for them to get out of the way.
There are only 4 this year, in the past we’ve had up to 14. When they see me they don’t seem to be in any hurry to get away. The one big male looks me over, then goes about pecking for food like I’m not there. Makes you wonder if they recognize you. Today they sauntered over to peck the ground beneath the bird feeder just outside my front window. It’s interesting how they’ll peck a few times, then look up, then back to feeding. This time they kept looking in the windows.
I have a couple of cats that are very interested in these oversized birds and the young one likes to scratch at the window trying to get to them. She’s ignored. The old claw-less one is allowed to go outside. The turkey are so used to him that they ignore him when he starts walking around between them while they’re feeding.
At night they roost in the trees along the edge of the ravine. At sunset you can see them trying to get as high up into the trees as possible. Not a graceful undertaking and numerous times a branch will snap under their weight and the process starts all over again. Later, when it’s dark, you can see their black silhouettes high up in the trees standing out against the night sky.
No, none of them can be taken for dinner. They’ve become the neighborhood pets and no one is allowed to touch them. Negotiations with respective wives around here have broken down and the wives have won, for now.
No wonder I don’t go fishing much. Wasted a perfectly good fishing afternoon looking for ducks and geese, then playing with turkey in my front yard. Being unemployed has it’s benefits I guess. I won’t miss being broke, but I’ll sure miss my play time.
