Turkey Fight!

There are plenty of wild turkeys on the Ranch. In the Fall, a hen and three jakes were frequently seen crossing the meadow. In January, we’ve started to see posses of toms roaming the upper meadow.

I’ve been trying to get some good pictures, but I either don’t have my camera with me or it has been hard to get close without scaring them off. That changed last week.

I spotted them from the main house. Three toms down by the pond. I grabbed my camera, put Señor in his crate, snuck around their flank, and quietly made my way towards them. In retrospect, I could have arrived with a marching band and it wouldn’t have mattered.

They were focused only on each other.

Eventually, I realized that they couldn’t care less about me. A couple of the toms moved onto the island and squared off. The third stayed puffed up with his tail feathers fanned out. He seemed to be saying: “You two figure it out, but don’t mess with me.”

The other two circled each other and then went at it. Chest bumping, biting, necks entwined with each other as they tried to get leverage.

They were tenacious. It was hard to tell which one was getting the better of it. In fact, they were pretty evenly matched. Perhaps that is why it went on for so long!

The third tom hovered in the background the entire time just watching. I thought perhaps he would fight the winner. But when it was over, the vanquished turkey waddled away. The winning tom chased him around a bit, until he flew to the other side of the pond. Eventually, the other two followed, and the three of them just moved on towards the boneyard and disappeared.

I understand the turkeys will start mating in a month or so. The dominance established now will surely establish who gets the best hens when that process starts. I’d better get my camera ready!

— KLM