Althouse: The first backyard turkey of spring.

April 11, 2023

The first backyard turkey of spring.

18 comments:

RideSpaceMountain said...: She heard that Althouse had a bountiful supply of beans and nuts. You might want to change your Blog Chryon before news of this goes viral on Turkey.net.; 4/11/23, 9:11 AM
Dave Begley said...: Turkeys have taken over Omaha.; 4/11/23, 9:11 AM
rcocean said...: Pretty soon the Toms will out "Struting their stuff". Last spring, we had one Tom walk down the midde of our street, giving the stink eye to anyone who looked like a threat. That was HIS territory baby, and we'd better vamoose if any pretty hens came around.; 4/11/23, 9:53 AM
Quaestor said...: Turkeys do not migrate, nor do they hibernate. They are active year-round on their home turf somewhere nearby, usually unseen. Except in the breeding season, turkeys are shy and secretive, which is why turkey shooting is so difficult. During the breeding season, the story is markedly different.

Turkey cocks are polygamous. Each one seeks exclusive sexual access to as many hens as he can round up and confine to what he deems to be his harem. To that end, the cocks drive away every male they encounter, or else they themselves will be driven away, and their harems claimed by new masters. This is probably the explanation for Althouse's backyard turkey. Though the video shows no details that can identify the sex or maturity of the bird in question, it is likely to be one of those outcast males driven from his home territory deep in the woods to less familiar refuge in the suburbs of Madison.; 4/11/23, 11:10 AM
JAORE said...: Love these wild birds. Had a pretty good flock around here.... until the coyotes came.; 4/11/23, 12:28 PM
Joe Smith said...: We've had a ton of them here the past 2 weeks, but it's warmer.

A bunch of gobbling woke me up this morning : ); 4/11/23, 12:32 PM
AngryKook said...: Well... It's not the first Robin of spring but I'll allow it.; 4/11/23, 12:47 PM
Limited blogger said...: Ann has found a way to curtail all interaction amongst the commenters. I believe Ann wanted to stop acrimony. But the delayed moderation has also stopped some of the good organic give and take here.

I'm fine with it. I only have to scan thru the comments once or twice now.; 4/11/23, 1:01 PM
Mike of Snoqualmie said...: There are three deer wondering our yard. I've seen them wondering down the road, along our western property boundary (the adjacent lot is still forested) and in the forest area behind our house.; 4/11/23, 1:23 PM
Wince said...: "X" marks the spot where Twitter used to be?; 4/11/23, 2:14 PM
gadfly said...: It is time to put up your "Turkey Crossing" signs. But remember that the DNR doesn't permit you to treat injured wild birds the size of turkeys.

Once upon-a-time I had to hide a turkey struck by a car in my basement until the flightless bird could move without a wobble.; 4/11/23, 2:48 PM
Inga said...: Turkeys are on the march at the lake too, must be breeding season and Toms are hot to trot.; 4/11/23, 3:29 PM
Sheridan said...: Montana's turkey spring season starts on April 15. We have a flock of turkeys nearby but they're not worth the cost of the permit.; 4/11/23, 4:18 PM
Dave Begley said...: Watch for bomb throwing, meltdowns and fireworks in the NE Unicam on Thursday.

It will make national news. The uprising of the Jacobins.; 4/11/23, 4:57 PM
Marc in Eugene said...: There is a flock that roosts up in the trees along the usual route I take for my morning walks; sometimes, though, I'm later than usual and they're already down on the ground strutting about. I guess the people who live on either side of the stands of trees haven't put their hearing aids in at that hour or else simply find the turkey chattering a pleasantness. Generally speaking, they ignore runners and walkers but will some days move from that area to a different one across the road; they're less tolerant, or the toms are less tolerant, when they're on the move. I've been followed but not chased.; 4/11/23, 9:28 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Ann has found a way to curtail all interaction amongst the commenters. I believe Ann wanted to stop acrimony..."

It's more a combination of 2 things:

1. The blog has to be moderated because of a few very destructive people. I have no way to automatically block them.

2. I don't want to be distracted by thinking about moderating the comments.

But there are some collateral benefits and negatives. One of the collateral benefits is that low quality "back and forth" comments are deterred.; 4/12/23, 5:57 AM
Ann Althouse said...: I like seeing more of the kind of comments that *I* like. But the moderation is about keeping out a very bad sort of commenter, not controlling the conversation.; 4/12/23, 5:59 AM
Narr said...: No turkeys here (not the feathered kind anyway) but now the big brown thrasher has been joined by a few others. I'm not sure where they nest--there are a lot of good locations--but they are very territorial.

This morning as I stood outside with our old dog they harassed him mildly, fluttering close, and even hopping behind him and making light jabs at his hindquarters. He barely noticed.; 4/12/23, 1:33 PM