Yay. It's Turkey time!

[rareboy]

Every year for the last 20 at least, we have had the pleasure of having a turkey hen nest somewhere around the west lawn and the hatching of a new brood.

This year, I was worried that she didn't seem to have found a mate since she didn't seem to be nesting, but ranging over all the lawns. But I hadn't really seen her over the last week or so because we have been travelling around for a project, usually leaving before her regular time to appear.

This morning, I see her out on the front lawn, walking her five chicks around, teaching them, I suppose, to eat bugs and bits.

Anyone else have some favourite wildlife around the house this spring?

 

[Essex Boy]

Bloody foxes .

 

[rareboy]

I would love to have a fox family back in residence here.

 

[Vannie]

*prepares sage dressing*

 

[Kahaih]

I read that wild turkeys eat an amazingly large number of ticks every day. Good to have around.

 

[rareboy]

*prepares sage dressing*

We had a meal of smoked wild turkey...the result of one flying into our farmer's truck. Delicious...but we don't hunt or permit hunting of them on our farm.....

 

[HoodedRat]

*prepares sage dressing*

 

[Vannie]

You're turning into Ike Turner!!!

Too soon?

 

[NotHardUp1]

I've missed my owl. She has raised a brood each year I have been here. I'm a bit worried that my new neighbor across the back woods has cut down her tree, but not sure. She may have merely lived out her life. She is/was a large Barred Owl.

I still have squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, woodpeckers, songbirds of many kinds, bullfrogs a-go-go, and the odd skink. Fewer copperheads in the creek since they did the massive concrete box culvert install this spring.

Large red-tailed hawk still omnipresent.

 

[rareboy]

We have lots of hawks around as well as our vultures, but I was happy to see so many Orioles and Meadowlarks yesterday. Which is to say, a few pair....

I love to see the paths that the deer and some of the other animals make across the meadows to the ponds.

 

[Alistair]

We have a lot of hawks so we have very few rabbits. Hawks must not like the taste of groundhogs because we have hundreds of them in the neighborhood. I’ve seen bald eagles close by but never from my house.

I’ve shown pictures of the squirrels, turkeys and deer that show up around the house but I see raccoons, opossums and skunks almost every day. I’ve seen a Fox once and I’ve seen herons in the river. It’s strange that I’ve never seen a coyote because they’re around the area and the river would be a good place for them to hunt.