I should say Her Majesty on Deck. The wild turkeys were back, and this time, found a deck full of food. The Matriarch was the only one who stayed on the deck, and not just stayed, she owned that deck. The squirrels were upset, but wisely ran away, and the smaller birds stayed high in the trees. One Blue Jay tried screaming, but soon found that to be no use. I’m still feeling a bit light-headed and in awe of being allowed the privilege of such closeness, because the Matriarch made it very clear she was aware of me. Oh man, giddy. I’m giddy. Click for full size! ETA: Just got a bunch more shots. More tomorrow.
© C. Ford.
She’s huge, and beautiful. You can sure see the dinosaur in the bird.
Wow, I can’t get over those stunning colors and her eyes. Every detail of these pictures is exquisite. What an honor!
What a lovely lovely bird! That is very exciting they came in so close like that! They are such statuesque animals.
One of the turkeys I raised spent all his time on the deck, because he could see himself in the glass and spent all day long posturing, preening and prancing in front of his own image. It was highly entertaining, apparently for both him and us. :-)
That fellow looks delicious! Probably will need a good soak in a tasty brine.
Raucous Indignation:
The fellow is a her, which would have been obvious to anyone upon reading, and I hope she lives a long and happy life. I can’t say I care for your comment, which is banal and more than insensitive.
Anne:
Oh yes. She’s majestic, and knows it. She was very curious about all the other people about, and could extend that neck amazingly far. She was particularly interested in a Blue Jay, and seemed to enjoy glaring at the squirrels. :D
TMM:
Oh, such an honor. I was stunned at being given permission. I’ll be floating for days, to say the least. She was quite clear with me prior to the photo taking, she walked right up to the window and gave me the serious eyeball, and did it again after hearing the shutter noise. After a lengthy inspection, she decided I was okay.
Kestrel:
:D I wasn’t able to get photos, but Rick and I were amazed to see this group relaxed enough to play -- one would start, stretching wings and running, then the others would join in, all running, chasing each other, and having fun. Then they’d stop, and groom themselves. It was great! I had no idea they were so playful. It was wonderful to see them feel so comfortable and happy. I’d be happy to have them here always.
Great photos. Autumn sidelight works in her (and your) favour.
The photos where the bird is facing the camera are expressive and the last headshot is beautiful. The profile photos show a lot and look great.
The upper tail has stripes that are not unlike bee stripes. She has strong legs.
Picture #8 is the quintessential portrait of a modern dinosaur. And she has beautiful eyes.
A lot of dignity showing. :) Can’t wait for more!
Apropos nothing: I love “caption this” bird pictures. I have a friend who keeps chickens and for festivus one year I gave her a book of beautiful pictures of chickens, with captions added on post-it notes. Well, it was fun for me.
Now I am going to have to dredge up some of my turkey content.
The mildly deranged penguin points out that ex-dinosaur is a cheap and tawdry upstart — it doesn’t even have a proper tuxedo! — and was not only baited, it didn’t even bother to insist on cheese!!
And it ate neither the camera nor the bird
p0rngrapherphotographer!!!She hiccups in its general direction, pointing out it father was a patch of peas and its mother smelt of horses!!!!
It it was turned into a newt, she says, that would be better!!!!!
(At which point she is hyperventilating moar that usual, having worked herself up to five exclamation points!!!!!!)
I love your turkey pictures! There are quite a few of them where I live in Massachusetts as well, though that was not always the case. They were almost extinct across most of the state in the mid 20th century, and even when I was a kid they were mostly found in the more thinly populated western part of the state. I remember stories on the local news about 20 years ago when they first started showing up in the central and eastern part of Massachusetts. Now they’re pretty common even on the outskirts of small cities, where I live. There is a group of them that appears to have my neighborhood as part of its foraging territory. I’ve never got any pictures that can compare with the ones that you take, especially these.
Well, I don’t think you can legitimately complain about bad turkey pictures anymore.
Giliell:
No, I can’t! And they were just now back up on the deck, I got more. !!!
What are they yellow and red bumps growing on her neck? Is that normal?
Alexander, I don’t know what they are called, but yes, they are normal.
Caine #16
Thanks. I’ve never seen a live turkey before and those bumps looked like cancerous growths to me.
BTW, the bird does look fierce and very alert. Great photos!
AlexanderZ
You should see what those red bumps become on a male turkey.
Caine? got pix of the alpha guy?
(if there was one)
Caine
Looking at the photos…
it’s a good thing y’all used 2x4 to build your bird-feeders.
were you expecting these dinosaurs?
AlexanderZ @ 15
The bumps are called caruncles.
AlexanderZ
Turkeys are quite odd-looking and not just a bit terrifying in real life. I don’t want to say ugly, because they certainly are not
(just look at the photos!), but they definitely have a very different look to them that can be a bit uncanny. Growths included. :)
Chigau:
No Tom in this group, just the Matriarch and the younger ones. Mum’s scary enough!
No, no we weren’t. :D
Q: How does one properly formally greet dinosaurs like this?
A: With lots of food!
Thanks for the response, everyone!
Wow, those are great photos, Caine.
The second one, where she’s staring right into the camera is my favorite. That’s a look that says she’s not taking any sh*t from anybody.
Jim:
Oh, no kidding! That’s when she walked right toward the window I was behind, letting me know I had not better try anything funny!