Don't Let The Turkeys Get You Down

[W3WN]

Late afternoon on Saturday, as W3LE & I are in the midst of the Pa QSO Party, the boss yells down and tells me to look out front...
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There must have been 30 of them in the flock... gaggle? Whatever. Just came down the side street, turned and headed up hill towards the woods...

I may just make the second picture the backdrop for this year's QSO Party QSL Card. After all, nobody wants to look at my ugly mug again anyway...

[K7SGJ]

Probably came down from Canada since yesterday was their Thanksgiving.

[W3WN]

Nah, the flock has been living in the area for a couple of years, but boy, did it grow this year. And this is actually only about a third of them, they appear to have broken up into 3 distinct groups...

There's a couple of acres of woods right above us (no, it's too far away to be able to run a wire up into them, too many other backyards to cut through... but I haven't given up hope yet), plus a few more acres on the hill on the other side that surround the Mt. Lebanon public golf course, so they have plenty of space to hide in.
4735Hungry little buggers too, as you can see here. I have a few more, but the focus is off; there are limits to the zoom in the camera, and I didn't want to scare them off, though they eventually did head back up into the woods...
4736

[K7SGJ]

We used to have bear, javelina, bobcat, mountain lion, and scores of other wildlife that would wander by. With all of the building in the last 20 years, about the only thing we see any more are coyotes, and lots of quail, dove, and shit birds.

[W3MIV]

It is the result of major restocking and conservation programs carried out through the Mid-Atlantic over a couple of decades. Wild turkeys are one of our better success stories. The worry is that they may lose some of their wildness and become too tame, like Whitetail deer. A big flock of turkeys can be almost as destructive as a large gaggle of Canada geese, vast numbers of which have become resident throughout the Mid-Atlantic Flyway and have become a major problem.

[NQ6U]

We've even got wild turkeys out here in the San Diego County back country. The hens are pretty tame but not the toms, probably because they're the ones that people shoot at during hunting season.

[W3WN]

We've joked for years that come mid-November, these guys had better watch out... they're actually plump enough this year that more than a few have seriously thought about it.

When we were renting the duplex between houses, the gentleman whose family lived on the other side would go deer and turkey hunting up in the woods... regardless of season. Bow & arrow to avoid attracting attention from using a firearm in a generally residential neighborhood. The cops never said anything to him about it that I know of, but he did stop draining the deer in full view of the street after the first or second one...

[ab1ga]

We've even got wild turkeys out here in the San Diego County back country. The hens are pretty tame but not the toms, probably because they're the ones that people shoot at during hunting season.

At work we were cursed by both Canada Geese and turkeys wandering about at the same time.
Then one day, the gander and the Tom decided to claim the same patch of turf in clear view of the building, prompting some amiable side betting.
No contest. Turkeys are -mean-.

[W1GUH]

Had some delicious wild turkey a few years back. Good Eatin'!

[W3WN]

Had some delicious wild turkey a few years back. Good Eatin'!My next door neighbor (who's about 80, from "the old country") is thinking that very thought.

And he has a gun. Not sure what, but he's been taking the groundhogs out with it all year.

...actually, he has (at least) two, he keeps offering to loan me one...

[NQ6U]

My next door neighbor (who's about 80, from "the old country") is thinking that very thought.

And he has a gun. Not sure what, but he's been taking the groundhogs out with it all year.

...actually, he has (at least) two, he keeps offering to loan me one...

Typically, turkey hunting is done by taking a head shot using a shotgun with a very tight choke. Not an easy critter to hunt, assuming you play by the rules and only shoot toms. They are very wary.

[W3WN]

Typically, turkey hunting is done by taking a head shot using a shotgun with a very tight choke. Not an easy critter to hunt, assuming you play by the rules and only shoot toms. They are very wary.So I understand. But when they wander into you backyard, 10 feet from your back door, it makes for an easier shot.