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WILD
TURKEYS OF PINE BROOK
By Peter D.
Goldfinch
By wild turkeys
we do not mean certain wild drivers and tailgaters of Pine Brook, a
subspecies of Homo Sap., but rather wild bird turkeys, more
familiarly known to us as Meleagris Gallopavo. There are currently
some 500,000 wild turkeys in North America and at least 23 in Pine
Brook
Hills.
Native only to
this continent, turkeys were present long before persons of no color
(Spaniards, etc.) arrived, and were known to and dined upon by the Anesazi,
the Aztecs and all. Some were taken to Europe
in the 1500’s to become properly domesticated.
Ben Franklin
proposed that the wild turkey be elected by Congress as our national bird,
but it lost by one vote. A national bird with a naked head seems to have
captured Congress’s imagination, for it later elected the Bald Eagle to that
lofty status, perhaps betraying a predilection for symbolism over substance
even then. And yet, Congress did show a prescient awareness of Family
Values in choosing the eagle, which is faithful lifelong to the same mate,
whereas the male turkey is a promiscuous polygamist and haremizer, a
prolific producer of progeny which it abandons even before their birth. A
wild turkey appeared on a US
postage stamp in 1957.
Our attention
has been drawn to a flock of some 23 wild turkeys which winters on the south
rim of Pine Brook, first seen this year in October. It is a coeducational
flock, the males being distinguished by their larger size, a brighter
iridescent coloration, and a feather tuft on the breast.
A turkey’s diet
can include seeds, insects, arachnids, buzzworms, an occasional juicy snake,
as well as the cracked corn or sunflower seeds that certain humans are
willing to provide. Containing up to two ounces of small stones, a turkey
gizzard functions as an internal food grinder. The Italian biologist
Lozzaro Spallanzini (1729-1799) showed that turkey gizzards can break up
steel needles. That’s 400 pounds per square inch of crushing power. Keep
your distance!
Communication
takes various forms among turkeys. As in some mammals and other birds,
flushing of the skin can display emotion. Several vocal patterns are
apparent. When feeding, a chick-like keow-keow is heard, an incongruously
tiny sound from such a large bird. When separated from the flock, a loud
yelping sound can call others from a considerable distance. The alarm call
consists of a sharp cluck, emitted by adults to warn the flock, or by a
mother hen to gather her chicks under her tailfeathers. And, of course, w
have the gobble, which occurs mainly during mating season.
Mating begins as
early as mid-February. Toms will gather up to 10 hens for their personal
harem, winning them over with strutting, fanning of the tailfeathers, and
lots of gobbling. It is said that if you gobble at a turkey during this
intense time, it may gobble back! The males also compete for mates by
killing other males with their beaks and spurs. There are reports of the
victorious male then copulating with the dead rival it has killed in this
mating behavior. I can assure you that I personally do not intend to gobble
at any of these fellows during their mating season.
The hens nest in
mid-April, now separated from the males who could destroy the eggs. They
lay one egg per day, up to 20, an average of 11, which incubate for 28
days. Crows are a major enemy at this time. The nest is covered with
leaves at the times the hen must be absent. Rarely, as many as 3 hens will
build a communal nest, with up to 40-some eggs, thus assuring that at least
one hen will be present to guard the nest at all times. Within two weeks of
hatching, the chicks are able to fly up to a tree branch. The males rejoin
the flock in the fall.
Although capable
of flying across a river, turkey, like chickens, are not strong fliers
because the “white mean” or breast muscle has a poor blood supply. The
“dark meat” in turkeys’ legs has excellent circulation, making them
prodigious runners, reportedly capable of outstripping a horse.
For those of us
who like to hunt and kill, the 1994 turkey seasons in Colorado are from 4/9
to 5/22 and 9/1 to 10/2. A common hunting tactic is to detect a flock, fire
a single shot to make them scatter, then take up concealment at that site.
The turkeys typically return gradually to where they were last together and
the hunter can pick off a few as they regroup. Bon appetit?
P.S. A hummingbird’s
heart beats 1200 times a minute, a turkey’s about 90. That’s all.
From the Pine
Brook Press, Winter, 1994
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