A Wild Turkey in My Garden

 

A wild turkey in my garden

On the morning of the 4th of July I glanced out my window and saw a small head with a bill poking out of the ornamental grasses on the flower bed on the east side of the house. My first thought was--nah--it must be a trick of the light, and yet, could it possibly be a duck? Had any of our neighbors acquired a pet duck recently, had it escaped? 

A second, longer look revealed that it was not a duck, it was actually a turkey! A wild turkey, to be precise. Our yard backs up to a patch of woods, so this wasn't completely out of the realm of possibility. Several years ago during one early morning commute when I was still working, I almost ran into a wild turkey crossing the 4-lane highway about a mile and a half from our house, so wild turkeys can definitely roam around our area.

 

Wild turkey hen and chick

I ran to get my camera, change to the telephoto lens and station myself on the deck, to see if I could get a shot or two of the turkey. I saw that the poor turkey was moving very slowly--she was limping, barely able to put weight on one leg--and imagine my surprise to see a chick following her!

I wondered if there was anything I could do to help her, but decided against the idea. Trying to trap her and the chick would probably be more traumatic to both than the injury she'd already sustained. It was best to leave them alone, and hope she and the chick would be able to survive on their own.

Wild turkey and chick

I took more photos of them as they moved slowly across my next door neighbor's yard, until they both disappeared down the hill into the woods once again. The entire episode lasted maybe five or six minutes. I think they had been eating the seeds from the Columbines in my flower bed, or perhaps it was grass seeds--I'm glad they were able to take refuge in my garden for a little while.

 

Wild turkey and chick going back into the woods.

I wonder if we'll see any more wild turkeys around here any time soon. Odd that it should happen on the 4th of July--it brought to mind that Ben Franklin had proposed that the wild turkey be our national bird, but he was out-voted and the bald eagle was chosen instead.