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| Turkey at The Shack |
While camping at The Shack, early one extremely foggy morning, I woke to a distant and strange noise.
At first I thought poor Willy, my dog, had stomach upset. His stomach often makes an odd assortment of gurgles and high-pitched sounds. I adjusted the sleeping bag and rolled over. And heard the noise again.
A wild turkey gobbling! I was so excited!
I have always had trouble seeing wild turkeys in the woods. They are very sneaky and seem almost invisible to me. But I've heard them over the years and always love to hear their gobble.
The sound came closer and I realized the Tom was crossing my yard and entering my woods!
Through the old glass slider, on an extremely foggy morning, and at a distance, I was not able to get a clear photo. With the naked eye, I could see the coloration of his head and I could clearly see his beard hanging. He took nearly 30 minutes to slowly pass through my woods and eventually out of hearing distance.
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| photo courtesy wikimedia commons: public domain |
I tried desperately to get my phone to open a video or audio of turkey calls so I could try to call him closer. But like always... I had insufficient cell service.
(note: Verizon service in much of West Virginia is TERRIBLE. My cell phone is rendered useless except for phone calls and basic text messages. Even text messages are often delayed. My hotspot/internet is worthless at The Shack. I really need to change providers. If anyone has a recommendation for cell and hotspot/internet providers in the eastern panhandle, please comment! I hear AT&T is a good option. Anyone have an option about another provider?)
Related Link: To hear a turkey gobble, visit the Cornell AllAboutBirds site and click "listen". My visitor did not fan his tail or puff up but you can see an excellent video of a male turkey doing so on the Cornell site.
How exciting! Some things are just for us to enjoy in the moment and it sounds like that was the case with you and "Tom". If you had not told me to look for him, I would not have picked up on him in the photo, but I do see that dark silhouette in the picture. It will always serve as a reminder for you of your early morning visitor.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your visit and comment. And your understanding that this kind of thing at The Shack is pure excitement for me. Mother Nature and "coincidences" are so cool.
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