Wildlife

> This year we have two hens (no jake) and another bunch of babies. The thing about the babies is that you can NOT see them unless they move. Not even from 15 feet. They are camouflaged so well. So time and again I took a bunch of pictures when I saw the babies walking. You can zoom in all you want in the picture and you will NOT see those little ones.

I've found the wild turkeys I've seen in the field to be extremely wily birds, very difficult to photograph. Ben Franklin thought they would make a better national totem animal than the bald eagle, and I'd say he was right. The Kardashians might not agree, of course.

I've seen flocks like this early in the morning along the road....Jefferson, Maine....pretty cool

Kent, you are correct in that its extremely difficult to photograph them. However, when they are close to the driveway, I can slowly advance in my truck and get within 20-25 feet. Occasionally closer as long as I don't roll the window down. It's sad that the coyotes that the DNR started in our area years ago have wreaked havoc on the turkey population as well as quail and rabbit populations. And I agree with Brother Ben that the wild turkey would have made a nobile and majestic bird to represent out nation.

When I was a teenager it was relatively common to see flocks of 50 to 60 turkey crossing a field in rural areas of my county. Its been a long time since I've seen that many.

I miss the little Bobwhite quail. Fire ants and coyotes have decimated their population as well as changed farming practices leading to decreased habitat. Back in the 60's, it was common to see six to ten coveys with a dozen or more birds in each covey. The last times we went hunting in the early 80's, we saw nothing during an all-day hunt. I have not been on a real quail hunt in over 30"years. Very rarely, I hear the "Bob-white" call while surveying. Very few times since, I have walked into a hidden covey of quail and had them flush all around me. My heart still skips a beat as they roar past my head only a few inches away. Some get up behind me while others are on the ground between my feet!
I have had a flock of turkey get up nearby and fly away. Those things are huge, and having a bunch of them suddenly take off makes the leaves fly and me to jump! A big ol' whitetail deer will get up almost under your feet, too. I have had them to run almost up to me, stop and look, and then keep running from some unseen danger. Ducks take off when I walk up on them in a creel or slough.

I love the outdoors and the wildlife. Anything from a huge green grasshopper with a yellow racing stripe to snakes, ducks and geese will cause me to pause and enjoy nature. I consider it a highlight of the day to see some form of animal or insect. That is, and f course, excepting the ticks, chiggers, mosquitos, horse flies and deer flies. Them, I can do without! And alligators. I can do without alligators, too. Especially when they see me, and start swimming toward me. The realization that I am not at the top of the food chain will cause me to go the other way.

I'm with you, Harold. Different places but similar experiences.......except for the gators, of course.

My part of the country attracts quail hunters from many miles away, but our quail population is practically nothing compared to what it was years ago. Many have speculated the decline is due to the major introduction of wild turkey into this region by the Fish & Wildlife do-gooders. As a youngster, I remember many flocks of quail and not one wild turkey. No turkeys whatsoever. Somewhere in the late 70's I saw my first wild turkey in this area. Today the turkeys are everywhere. Huge flocks up to 400 in one field. Seeing 30 or more at a time is common now. Quail, unfortunately, are only seen on occasion.

Deer were introduced at some time in the 60's. I saw one within 10 miles of my home when I was in high school. Now, the sheriff's office is working car/deer accidents practically every day. Who would have ever thought deer would be such terrible drivers and where do they get their driver licenses?;-)

I enjoy the wildlife, usually. However, there are times.....

Mom lives just down the road. She called me Thursday morning about 6 just as my daughter and I were getting ready to leave. "Stop when you come by here, there's an animal in the commode!

Me. "Did you try to flush it?"

Mom. "It's too big to flush."

Me. "Is it dead?

Mom. "I don't know".

Me. "Is it a mouse?"

Mom. "It's a lot bigger than a mouse".

Me. "Be there in a few minutes."

Grabbed some hunting gloves and a 5 gallon bucket. When I got there she said she had heard something in the wall during the night. When she had got up to use the bathroom she saw it when she raised the lid. She had set a gallon jug of water on the lid to hold it down. So I lifted it a little, and there sat a full grown fox squirrel up under the rim.

Hmmm, this should be interesting. Shut the bathroom door and put on the gloves. Raised the lid enough to get my hand in and grabbed it by the back of the neck. Luckily the gloves had a long cuff on them because he was not happy. While he was trying to claw his way out of that hand I got my other hand around his head in a tight grip and headed for the back door. Gave him a good fling, and when he hit the ground he was a lot happier.

I've heard of squirrels going down the plumbing vent and ending up in the toilet. In fact, my mother in law has a cabin in north Georgia they go to on weekends. She found a dead one in one of the commodes there a few years ago.

So the wildlife is fine as long as it stays outside I guess.

You have provided me with what I call a MHV. That's a Mental Home Video. It's a shame you don't have a regular video to share of that event.

I wish the quail were still around, too. It's gotten to the point that if I see one it's an event to remember. They require a very specialized habitat that has become hard to find, and with so many new predators they don't seem to have much of a chance.

Those turkey chicks camoflage is the only thing keeping them from becoming some hawks dinner. Highly evolved since the less succesful camo jobs don't reproduce. We have ptarmigan you will nearly step on in open tundra and not see until they explode under your feet. Believe it or not, we have resident introduced wild turkeys now where I live in AK that are surviving due to the mild winters.

This cute little ground squirrel was watching me survey yesterday. They are a hoot when they scramble around and hang from tree branches.

Harold, I remember when I was probably 11 or 12 when my Dad would take me deer hunting, the quail would scare me to death when they would flush at my feet on the way to my stand before daylight. In those days, it was normal for an 11 or 12 year old to walk to the stand alone and hunt alone. I had almost forgotten the "bob white" whistle. I haven't heard that in years. We now have fire ants, deer ticks, coyotes, armadillos and other things that I believe have done damage to many of the critters I remember as a boy.

Wildlife-Remember the 80's?

That was some wildlife fer sure.....:-D

Talking Heads

Not the best picture, but here's a coral snake I spotted in North Austin a few days ago.

All this rain and flooding has pushed a lot of fauna out of their homes and into the open.

Geesh
I hope you don't see them often.

Second thought... I hope you do see them before they see you.

It is interesting that the turkey became a derogatory name due to the domesticated bird.

They were hunted out here in certain places but it took years for them to recover after hunters moved on to other areas.

Here's a picture I just took. I could see the adults by eye when I took it but now I can't see any of them. That fascinates me.

Yeah, should have had my daughter film it. Luckily mom saw it before she sat down. It could have turned out more like this:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=K16fG1sDagU

Had a buddy helping do some road staking a few years ago. Had control points set along the R/W fence and he took the rod over to one for a shot. Was looking through the scope getting focused on him when there was a great commotion and what sounded like a 16 year old girl screaming. He was knocking down the grass around the point and a hen turkey busted out right between his legs. A 50 year old feller can actually scream like a 16 year old girl.

My grandfather lived in southwest Mississippi and was a lineman for Standard Oil when they had their own dedicated telephone and telegraph lines along their pipelines. So he was always talking to landowners and finding good places to hunt. My mom remembers times in the late 40s and early 50s when money was tight and bobwhite were abundant that they would have fried quail three meals a day.