Turkey Surprise
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Never did I expect this sighting in our backyard.
Yesterday, my husband hollered, “TURKEY”!
I came a-running through the house 😂 grabbing my camera along the way. From our kitchen bay window, we watched a tom meandering through the bordering tree line and marsh behind us. I sneaked outside onto our back porch, and waited to see if it would come out for some photos.
He did, and proudly too!
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Wild Turkey (tom/male)
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After that strutting display, the tom began walking to the left and disappeared behind my flowerbed. I spotted a hen hidden in the thicket and moved slowly out of my hiding spot to try to see where the tom went. He had turned back, caught sight of me darn it, and took off running to our trees on the side of the house. To my surprise, he was followed by four fast-running hens!
Fact: If a Wild Turkey is spooked, it can reach a running speed of 20-25 mph (32-40 km/h)!
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Wild Turkey (two of the hens/females)
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Handsome fella!
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Photos by Donna 
What a fun surprise, Donna! These are beautiful photos of the handsome fellow.
Thank you, Carol! I’ve seen the hens two more times grazing ours and the neighbors’ lawns, I just know tom is watching me from a perch somewhere. 😉
How good is that. Nice pictures. He is fat and healthy looking. I wonder if they live nearby ?
Thank you, Sandy! It’s breeding season now and the winter turkey flocks have separated into smaller groups with a dominant male. Their range is about three miles now. We’ve seen the hens two more times, but not the tom. He’s watching us from a roast probably, lol, while the hens forage ours and the neighbors’ lawns. They will probably keep moving on. They better, we saw the fox traveling the same route they were two days ago. 😕
Mr Fox knows a good thing when he sees it. Keep travelling, Turkey. Thank you so much for the answer.
Wow, Donna! Your captures are stunning! How wonderful your husband spotted the turkeys and how nice of tom to pose and display his feathers. What a popular guy. 😉
Thank you! I was shocked and thrilled at the same time, lol We’re seeing the hens still, I’ve gotten more photos of them. 🙂
He wouldn’t be looking that happy if he knew what was in store for him
I hear ya on that ha! Like a male, he’s thinking of the moment lol.
So true!
Handsome indeed. Quite a catch! (Suzanne)
Thank you, Suzanne!
What an exciting visit from the turkeys, Donna. I love how you grabbed your camera and ran and am happy you had success with this series of wonderful photos. Turkeys are so beautiful, so many colors and patterns, and when the tom displays it is awesome. They’re all around our house displaying this time of year too. Sometimes I find a feather on the ground, and just one feather is beautiful.
Who knew a turkey would excite me so! hehehe Thank you, Jet! The hens are still around, so I know Mr Tom is somewhere watching. Now I know how cool it is to have them around your yard. I will most definitely look for a feather now, good fun to do with the grandboys. 🙂
Wow…handsome fella! And lucky you, Donna😁
Thank you, Indira! Who knew a turkey would thrill me??!!!! 😁
Very nicely done.
Thank you, Ted! The turkey did all the work. 🙂
Oh, he’s a beauty!! What a cool visitor. I hope he and his lady hens come back.
Thank you, Deborah! We were eating dinner last night at the bay window and suddenly a hen flew across our entire backyard, it was both funny and exciting. She was fast too! I read they can fly up to 50 mph!! 😲
How cool! I hope they have good eatin’ there in the trees and bushes behind your house and figure out they’d be safe in your yard and only hunted for a picture! 😀
Me too!
Nice shots Donna!
Thank you, David!
That is so cool!
I think so too, thanks Kent!
A very fine specimen! Earned him a good harem, too. 😉 Great captures, Donna. 🙂
Thank you, Eliza! I think I strutted around the rest of the day, lol, it was exciting. 🙂
Magnificent birds.
Gwen.
Thank you, Gwen!
What an amazing and unexpected find in your own backyard Donna ! Some good eating in this very beautiful bird. Great shots of the male. We only have wild turkey on King Island as far as I know as I have seen them there.
We have had two more sightings of the hens in ours and the neighbors’ yards, foraging the lawns. One hen flew across our backyard full speed towards our treeline to the cornfield where I’m sure they spend a lot of time at also. 🙂
A truly amazing sight.
He is one handsome gobbler!
What a fun surprise! So glad he showed off his feathers for you. 😊
Me too, thank you, Pepper!
He is a handsome Tom! Fine photos of him and the ladies 😊
Thank you, Belinda!
What a great surprise, Donna. And your photos are great, too. He is definitely strutting his stuff! 🦃
Thank you, Tanja!
Good find! Great shots!
Thank you, Sharon!
Nice to see the Tom displaying! Is this the first time this happened to you? A pleasant surprise. It would have been fun to be a bug on the wall and watch the excitement!
Thank you, Jane! I’ve seen wild turkey over the years, always at a distance, and never a good tom display shot. We’ve been living here now since last August, first time for them here. We’ve seen the hens a few more times, but Mr Tom has been hiding. Even had a hen fly across our yard while we were eating dinner, lol.
What a great photo shoot! How lucky that your husband spotted this handsome guy and you didn’t have to think twice about grabbing your camera. Looks like the tom will have plenty of hens to keep him occupied.
(I tried to comment here yesterday and WP wouldn’t let me through. Hope it works today!)
Thank you, Barbara! My camera is my side-kick lol. Always laying out on the counter, ready to go. 😉 They are still around us, we’ve seen the hens several times now, grazing the lawns. We have not seen the tom again, but I just know he’s watching them and us in hiding!
(Oh no, not WP issues again! UGH!! Thanks for checking back in, Barbara!)
Well, that’s a pretty terrific surprise!
Much better yard decorations than those plastic pink flamingoes.
Pro tip: A Wild Turkey in the oven is much easier to catch.
🤣 Thank you, Wally, for the morning belly laughs!! Love it!!!
The Tom looked like he was wearing make-up. 😆
hahaha He really does look like it! 🤭😉
Kudos to your husband for his watchful eyes. I’ve never seen a Tom in the wild, but I stumbled upon a hen and some young ones a few years ago. I had my camera, but they disappeared into the tall grass before I could capture them.
Oh my goodness, they can run like the dickens! lol I was so very happy with this tom giving me this opportunity. We were eating dinner and one flew across the entire width of our yard. Now that was a conversation piece!
A turkey in flight is definitely an experience to remember.
Awesome – I have actually never had the chance to photograph a Tom in full display, very nice.
Thank you! I haven’t seen him or his ladies for over a week, so they must have moved on.