Bird-watching in the Yard? Nah, Never Anything Interesting...What?

Sometimes one might think that birdwatching in the yard is slightly monotonous. I've found that's not actually true, as I've probably seen two or three dozen species in my own, but I've never seen this in my 26 years at this address. Two snakes, yes. An occasional possum, yes. But leaving for work this afternoon, it was a Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo). It had been in my front yard, but got up and wandered off down the street (unnoticed by quite a few neighbords!).

We had been working in the back yard a little earlier in the day and heard some odd vocalizations that we couldn't identify or locate, but I'm thinking it might have been the Turkey hiding out behind the fence.

The lesson? Don't sell your yard short as a place to see interesting birds!

Bird of the Day: What Else Could it Possibly Be?

Of course, the Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo). It's native to North America, but is mostly an introduced species in the western states. I was not aware that the Turkey was almost extirpated in the early 1900s when the wild population may have declined to as few as 30,000 individuals (hunting and habitat loss were the major culprits). It was the effort to bring the bird back from an endangered status that led to its introduction in the western states. The recovery effort has been successful and there are an estimated 7.8 million of them in the wilds of every state but Alaska.

As you enjoy your domestic version of the bird at the table tomorrow, give some thanks that there were those who made an effort to save the wild ones for posterity. The birds are an American original.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Just for the fun of it, take a look at the antics of the Turkeys I ran into last year near Morro Bay...