Knuckles the Turkey! @David Whitacre

I wonder if it’s mating season & the rest of flock was female 

Perhaps surprisingly, turkey toms can inflict some pain using their wings as well! Long ago, I helped investigate a then-nearly-unknown population of Peregrines breeding in the extremely “cliffy” Sierra Madre Oriental in northeastern Mexico (headed up by Grainger Hunt, then of the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute). We were based in a rented 1-room adobe in a small town. The neighbors had a big tom turkey that would often display at, and attack, us as we sat outside. Given the opportunity, he would not only jump up and lash out with his spurs, but would also slash forward with his bent wings. When he made contact with his bony “wrists” (all those reduced finger bones crammed together), it hurt pretty good. Fun times!

I’m so sorry for your misadventure, Tom. Your cautionary tale is valuable to me. I’ve photographed the Dry Creek Cemetery flock of wild turkeys several times. Once, after shooting upright for 10 minutes, I laid down on the ground for a more dramatic view. I spoke quietly to the turkeys as they slowly came up to inspect me. When they got about six feet away, though, I started to wonder if I’d made a poor choice, if turkey aggression was going to find me in a pickle. I slowly got up and they slowly wandered off. I have a longer lens now and going forward, won’t attempt to get up close and personal with the big fowl.

Bill

Bill Moore

Hoot Owl Inkom