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Friday, January 31, 2014

Some Winter Turkeys

I caught some of the local wildlife on camera from my truck, so I thought it was a good idea to share them with you. I hope both of our versions of good ideas match. These turkeys are pretty easy to get when they're out. All I had to do was stop the truck and start shooting.

I wish I could show you the full size of this flock. There must be about three dozen turkeys in it. It depends on the day how many I see. At times I only get to see about half a dozen, but at other times I see the whole flock.

These turkeys live at the edge of Sioux City, about at the area where the city turns into country. They mostly like to roam around in the cemetery where some of my family are buried. The cemetery and these turkeys are one of the first things my aunt showed me when I first moved here.

She was telling me that she thought it was a nice thought that maybe some of the people who were buried in the cemetery were reincarnated into these turkeys. She even named some of them after people she knew. She doesn't really believe it, but she said it's fun to think about it that way.

Even though I've known my aunt my whole life, I didn't know her very well until I moved here. I only ever got to visit here once every several years. Now she's one of my favorite family members. I think of her little story whenever I see these turkeys.

On one of my previous posts a month or two ago I said I thought I saw turkey vultures flying around the area where these turkeys live. It was kind of dark and I couldn't see them very well. They were flying only about as high as the tree tops.

I'm now sure that I was completely wrong. Turkey vultures leave this area for the winter, so it could not have been them. It had to be these turkeys that were flying around so skillfully. I never knew turkeys could fly so well. They were simply flying into the trees so they could get some sleep.

One of these days I'll get a few pictures of the whole flock of these turkeys. And I'll get some pictures of them in the trees, and maybe even flying. I pass by there quite often. Just yesterday I had to stop my truck as several of them were crossing the road.

There are many different flocks of turkeys in the area, but this is the one I see the most. Maybe I'll go out one of these times and look for some of the others. I'd be interested to know where they live. There are so many wild places here that I may never find out. I'll still look though because I like turkeys. I'll talk to you later.

26 comments:

  1. Wow, these turkeys are cool! I am sure they fly a lot better than their domesticated brethern - those poor critters can't do much. (But oh, they are tasty!)

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    1. I like these wild ones, and I like the tasty ones too. :)

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  2. Turkeys wandering around in a cemetery sounds odd to me. I like the cute theory of your aunt's! I always enjoy your posts too.

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    1. It sounds odd to me too. It may just be that their real home happens to be near the cemetery.

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  3. You really are having Everyday Adventures and you are getting to be very good with your photos. I enjoy reading your posts. Thanks for letting us in as to what you see every day.

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    1. You're welcome. I hope to keep having these Everyday Adventures for many years to come.

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  4. Really good post Ratty. Very interesting. Your Aunt's premonition was correct.

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    1. My aunt even named a few of these turkeys after a few family members.

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  5. Very nice shots of these graceful birds

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    1. Thanks. I had to get the pictures fast because the road is kind of busy right there.

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  6. Those are good turkey pictures. They always seem to be moving too fast for me to get good shots. Cute story about the reincarnation. I may have to name some critters.

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    1. I had a good potential picture of the whole flock today, but I didn't have my camera with me.

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  7. i love your pictures, turkeys in winter are always a delight to see, especially with them parading.

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    1. The good thing about these turkeys is that I see them the whole year.

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  8. I enjoyed your photos. I often hear them but seldom see them.
    Your Aunt sounds like a very special lady. :)

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    1. I've been happy to be able to get to know my aunt better for the past few years now.

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  9. Seems like a lot of turkeys in one place. Maybe they thought it was safe to re-appear after the holidays were over :)

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    1. Nobody must ever hunt these turkeys because I see them all year long.

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  10. I think your Aunts story about the cemetery residents being re-incarnated into the turkeys is lovely. It's strange isn't it but when it comes to chickens and turkeys we always forget that they are birds and therefore capable of great flight. Hope you manage to get some photos of them in flight or in the trees to share with us Ratty as it is such a rare opportunity to see that happening!!

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    1. I sure forgot that they could fly. I'll definitely be watching for some good shots of them in the air.

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  11. That's funny - your aunt naming the turkeys after some of the residents of the graveyard!!! I've never seen a turkey in the wild - guess it's because I am such a city girl. I hope you get pictures of the new ones when they hatch.

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    1. I never saw any turkeys in the wild either until I moved here. It's because this is a much more rural area.

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  12. Great photos! I was going to say that I've never seen turkeys in the wild before and then it occurred to me that I don't actually think I've seen turkeys before! I love your aunts story. She sounds like a very interesting woman.

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    1. I think turkeys can only be found here in North America. I may be very wrong about that one. They were jokingly proposed as our national animal once.

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  13. Beautiful photos!! I haven't seen any turkeys this winter, but they are around. I'm sorry I haven't been on in a long time. I have to catch up. Nice to see you are still posting Ratty! hope you are doing well. It's been a real, cold winter so far. I'll be glad when spring arrives. Take care!

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    1. It's bee cold here too, but we aren't getting all the snow like everyone else. We're headed for a big warmup in a few days. I hope that gets to you pretty soon too.

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