The Winter Strut

It is not unusual for friends to ask me questions about wildlife.  I am often asked in March or early April if the wild turkeys are gobbling yet?  In actuality the question being asked is "has the mating season began" for male wild turkeys may gobble at any time of the year.  The intense mating activity  in my area usually takes place in early to mid April with toms beginning to display and vie for hens as early as late March if weather conditions are favorable.  

What many are not aware of is the strutting and gobbling during the winter months preceding the actual mating season.  The photos posted below are from a recent morning when a flock of mature gobblers were more than a little worked up.  A few of the gobblers strutted, gobbled, harassed, and intimidated the others making it an exciting morning to be behind the camera.

This strutting activity is different that what occurs during the actual mating season.  During winter the gobblers are traveling about in bachelor groups with their attention directed towards each other.  Once the actual mating season arrives the males will usually only strut while hens are present.  The intent of the gobbler's display is to present himself as the most desirable mate, for it is the hen who decided who will be the acceptable suitor.        

Mood Swings: Eastern Wild Turkey

Some birds change plumage for different seasons.  Many species change their appearance considerable between breeding and non-breeding plumage.  The eastern wild turkey gobblers do not change plumage however they most certainly do change appearance when the mood strikes them.

 

 

A Eastern Wild Turkey gobbler stares down the lens. 

 

 

Some of the gobbler's bright colors can be seen in this capture. 

 

 

But it is only when a gobbler is in full strut that he fully displays his patriotic colors.

 

The blurry forms of other gobblers can be seen in the background of this close-up shot.

 

Although we are now experiencing the coldest temperatures of the winter, the gobblers are already anticipating the upcoming spring mating season.

Strutting Their Stuff

Canon EOS 6D, EF 600mm f/4 IS USM   F/5.6, 1/400 ISO-800

As spring grows nearer wild turkey gobbler's are being seen more frequently strutting and gobbling. 

 

 

I have not observed any interest on the part of the hens yet but it won't be long before they will join in and the mating season will begin in earnest. 

 

The normal impression of a wild turkey seen at a distance is that of a large bald-headed black bird, but when seen close-up in good light the iridescent feathers of a mature gobbler glow as if illuminated from within with a multi-colored sheen.  

 

I am always amazed at how quickly a gobbler's head can change colors.  Normally a dark drab bluish hue with some red mixed, in the turkeys head can change colors in a matter of seconds as he becomes excited.

Right now the strutting and gobbling appears to be all about establishing dominance between the gobblers both within an individual flock and between flocks of males.

However in the near future as the hens become receptive the male's displays will be all about attracting hens.

Preening Wild Turkeys

 

On a recent frosty morning I had an opportunity to photograph a flock of gobblers as they preened before moving off into the woodland.   In this first photograph the turkey can be seen removing water from his feathers.  Earlier in the morning the turkey's backs had been coated in frost. 

 

When a turkey begins preening it is very common for the entire flock to join in.

While the gobblers typically preen in unison, from my observations they only preen themselves as I have never witnessed one bird cleaning another.

 

 

It was during the preening that one bird sat down with his snood extended while another gobbler circled him closely a number of times.  I do not claim to understand the significance of this behavior, however it did appear to be a dominance move of sorts. 

 

All good things must come to a end and when finished with preening the gobblers filed off into the adjoining woodlands for a day of foraging.

Lookin Good for the Ladies

Strutting is all about the hens.  Gobblers don't gobble and strut to impress or intimidate other gobblers, they strut to attract the hens.  Here a pair of jakes put their colors on display trying to gain the attention of the hen feeding in the foreground.

And this mature gobbler looks to be trying out his latest break dancing move; getting down for the girls.

A close-up reveals the brilliant red, white, and blue color scheme of the gobbler's head.  

Gobblers Gone Wild!

The last couple of weeks has been frustrating for me.  The waterfowl migration has been moving through and the wild turkey gobblers have been strutting but regardless of my effort nothing was coming together.  The ducks have been exceedingly wild and every time I zigged to gobblers zagged.  Of course I well know that success doesn't always come easy so it was with anticipation that once again I setup the little outhouse blind while darkness still enveloped the countryside hoping the gobblers show. 

The first turkeys to hit the meadow were Jakes and soon one was ballooned out in full strut.  As impressive as he appeared he could not begin to measure up to what was to come next!

And it wasn't long before three long-beards showed up to show everyone who was boss.

By the time the activity wrapped up I had shot about 450 frames and had captured my very best ever strutting gobbler images.  This was a morning that will not be forgotten anytime soon.

Little did I know as I headed to the lake to check out the migratory waterfowl activity this afternoon that I would soon be shooting my best ever shots of another species.  The afternoon's shoot will be the subject for another day.

Wild Turkeys: Gobblers Preening

Documenting wildlife behaviour is one of my major attractions to wildlife photography.  Thus this morning's encounter with a flock of mature wild turkey gobblers was made even more thrilling when the entire flock began preening.  Whereas deer will groom both themselves and also other members of the herd; the gobblers were content to groom only themselves.

A gobblers head can change color rapidly; take note of the color change between the first photograph and this one taken just one minute later of the same bird.

A close-in crop of the second image reveals his extended snood.  Again this change from the short stubby snood in the first image took place in the space of about a minute.

I shot the above photos with the Canon 60D & a 600mm lens.  While the 600 was working quite well for shooting detailed images of one individual bird it was too much lens to capture the entire scene.

Scooping up the Canon 30D & the 100-400mm lens I hand-held and zoomed to 285mm to compose this shot of the flock standing single file.  Three birds are busy grooming while a single bird keeps his eyes peeled for danger.

Having a camera and lens of a different focal length handy and ready to go can pay dividends.  In this case the zoom lens on the second camera allowed me to capture the rest of the story.

The Wild Turkey: A Bird of many Colors

From a distance or in subdued light the Eastern Wild Turkey appears as a predominately black colored bird.

However, when an adult male steps into bright sunlight the incredible colors of his iridescent feathers changes his appearance entirely.

And the closer you look the more beautiful his coat of many colors becomes.

As March approaches the early stirrings of the breeding season can be seen in flocks of gobblers as they Jockey for dominance.

Although, I haven't observed a mature gobbler in full strut to date, the jakes are creating quite a commotion.  I was hoping to capture a good side or frontal shot of this jake as he strutted his stuff today, however all of the good poses came while he was partially obscured by the high grass.