Turkey Love
June 15, 2026
Hello Friend!
I currently live on a large country lot that backs up to a farm field, and because of this I see a lot of interesting wildlife out my window. This past year I've seen coyote, deer (of course), lots of bunnies and a little red fox that regularly dashes across my view to get from here to there. And now it's that time of year when we see the turkeys.
When we first moved into the house in July almost two years ago, we really enjoyed watching the mama turkeys parade their babies across the front yard. Turkeys travel in groups, so we often had three or four mamas and MANY fluffy babies wandering together, looking for the perfect bug in the yard.
At this time of year we mostly see just the ladies, visiting our birdfeeder trays to grab a quick bite. I love to watch them. For one thing, they're huge, like ginormous chickens. They scratch the dirt with their oversized turkey toes and wander in and out of the garden hunting seeds and bugs. I imagine them chatting with each other, enjoying the break from sitting on nests and waiting for eggs to hatch. They're very shy, and although they're now used to me watching from my glass slider, any sudden movement sends them running back for the woods. At one point I counted six or seven girls enjoying a backyard breakfast while I sipped my coffee and kept them company.
But the other day we had a special visit from the male toms. Turkeys typically form small groups, each with a tom or two and several hens. On this particular day there were two male turkeys and a handful of hens, all moving towards my birdfeeders. And the toms were so much fun to watch!
They pouffed their feathers and spread their tails until they were twice as large and totally intimidating. Their heads were colorful, I had no idea male turkeys were red white and blue! But the best part was the strut. One VERY SLOW step at a time, with several seconds between steps. The whole thing was fairly hilarious, an obvious "look at me!" strategy to impress the girls and scare away competitors.
The ladies, for the most part, seemed non-plussed, but they did stay close by as they nibbled. Honestly I had a wonderful time watching the whole thing.
It did cross my mind, now that I've lived a few years, that my advice to those lady turkeys would be to find a guy who's willing to unload the dishwasher and run the vacuum instead of relying on good looks to keep things running smoothly.
Pretty feathers are nice but temporary, and a guy who truly partners with kids and household is a much better catch! Just sayin'.
