The Turkey Equation

The arrival of winter has changed the equation when it comes to wildlife, survival, and at times the sharing of trails.   And so is the case with one of the tough feathered guys of Oakland County: the wild turkey.  With temperatures plummeting and snow on the way the boundaries that once divided disappear.  All that really matters now is adapting to survive.  Turkey flocks are now all-inclusive; hens, woods-wise Toms, first winter birds and immature jakes (young  males) strut the woods together.  Most of the times they will hear or see you before you notice  them—but not always.  Practice patience and observation –talk less, listen more and the pre-winter days on less traveled trails are an excellent time to observe these wild and wary woodland birds.   They are often spotted near the edges of the trails, or even on the trails, pecking at acorns, old fallen apples, low hanging berries and whatever else means survival. 

That makes sense; the trails that make our treks through the woods easier do the same for the turkeys. 
Come dusk, they "vanish" in a roar of wing beats; for unlike their morbidly obese artificially fattened flabby lily white domesticated cousins that are too fat to even mate, the wild ones are powerful flyers and retire to upper tree limbs.