Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Wordless Wednesday 151: Some of my Neighbors are Real Turkeys

Wild turkeys are native to Wisconsin, but in the 1880s they were wiped out due to destruction of habitat and over-hunting. In the 1970s, the state's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) brought 350 turkeys in from Missouri. As the populations grew, they were distributed in other areas and are once again found throughout the entire state, particularly in southern Wisconsin.

It is not unusual to see a few birds roaming urban neighborhoods, especially those near parks and nature preserves. On the evening the following photos were taken, I encountered seven birds in one end of a nearby park -- a few days earlier there had been fourteen. I sat on the edge of the vacant basketball court and watched a while as they ranged between the edge of the park (coming within a few yards of me) and a neighboring backyard's birdfeeders. Urban wild turkeys have grown used to the presence of pesky humans, and will generally leave you alone so long as you leave them alone. I enjoy seeing them during my walks, and they are so ungainly that watching them run always makes me laugh.

















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14 comments:

kayerj said...

fascinating neighbors.

Unknown said...

Beautiful! Humans can be such fools when it comes to our treatment of animals. Conservation of both habitat and wildlife is so important.
http://animalanarchy.blogspot.com/2014/09/wordless-wednesday-metamorphosis.html

bk said...

Interesting neighbors you have indeed! :)

NCSue said...

Nice neighbors - are you going to have one over for dinner on Thanksgiving?

Heather said...

Kelley: I think so anyway, LOL.

Helena: Humans definitely win for foolish and irreverent behavior. No other species destroys their habitat the way homo sapien does, and I saw an article yesterday that the world has lost half its wildlife in forty years.

Heather said...

Thanks, BK!

Sue: *Gasp* You did not just say that! While there will be turkey served at dinner, it won't be from the 'hood. The DNR will grant 'trap-and-release' permits to relocate nuisance birds, but you can't legally kill them inside city limits. If these urban birds only knew how lucky they were during turkey season!

CountryDew said...

They are a funny bird to watch. I didn't realize they'd been eliminated in your state and reintroduced.

Humans are good at destroying things.

Heather said...

Anita: Sad, isn't it, the things we do to our environment? I'm glad they were brought back to Wisconsin.

Jennifer Leeland said...

We have a few wild turkeys out here but they're usually in the wild and not near development.

Heather said...

Jennifer: That's too bad -- but then, a lot of your wildlife has been threatened by drought and wildfires in recent years.

Alice Audrey said...

Around here we mostly get roving packs of deer.

Heather said...

We have deer, too, they're just not as visible. I did find a hoof print outside my front window one winter.

Jana said...

My neighbors are real turkey's, too...just not the bird kind. :-D

Love the shots!

Heather said...

Jana: ROFL...I have some of those type of turkeys, too. ☺