Yesterday I watched a turkey put on a show. Yes, I have seen photos of the he-bird with all his feathers spread out in a big fan, but being naive, even at my venerable age, I had no idea why.
But yesterday I was at the kitchen window and saw a big turkey fella all fanned out like he was on parade. He would take a few steps forward, then a few back, and then he would ever-so-slowly pivot round full circle and then back around.
Now I know what strutting really means!
I could not see the object of Tom’s affections because Lady Mae was in a kind of hidden spot. But I knew. I just knew there had to be a lady bird watching.
Tom’s parade of feathers and demonstrations of immense male beauty went on for 10 minutes or more – the slow turning and preening, the look of expectation – the circling round – and all to no avail.
I was getting tired for Tom (and my neck hurt from craning) and I wondered how long it would take Lady Mae to respond if ever. Maybe she found Tom lacking in some way. I thought he was magnificent but who am I to judge the spread of a wild turkey’s feathers anyway? He looked majestic to me.
But then Tom Turkey suddenly gave up. He looked beaten and rejected like a dog skulking away with his tail between his legs. All his gorgeous feathers went down until he was reduced to an ordinary not-so-impressive turkey. And he turned away from Lady Mae and slowly moved off into the woods and never once looked back. I had the feeling he was saying, “I give up. There must be someone else.”
I was so disappointed for Tom and I almost turned away too, but Voila! Here came Lady Mae out of hiding and into view. She moved verrrry slowly in Tom’s direction.
I could just see Tom on the edge of the woods beginning to fan his feathers once again. He moved forward a few steps, but then moved deeper into the woods again. And Lady Mae moved forward, and the whole “Come to me darling – Maybe I will” program dragged on until Lady Mae disappeared into the woods with Tom.
OMG – I had witnessed a turkey mating ritual and I think they knew
I was a hopeless voyeur and they went into the woods to enjoy a little privacy.
Pictures? I could not tear myself away from the show long enough.
So I’ve posted someone else’s photo above of a Tom-Look-Alike in lust.
First a smile, then I was chuckling and right about here I was laughing out loud. ” He looked majestic to me.” Oh you played this like a scene in a movie. Gorgeous image to go with this hilarious text. What a story teller you are!
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What a treat you had, Dor! And this fella was in your yard, too! Most people have only seen a turkey in the freezer section already dressed to roast for Thanksgiving. We raised turkeys when I was a child, but I don’t recall ever seeing such a handsome Tom!
~Liz
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That must have been fascinating! Romance on your doorstep 🙂
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Love it Dor ! Thanks for the impressive TURKEY TALE.
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What a treat that must have been, Dor. I’ve seen wild turkeys but never doing a mating ritual.
Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of turkey vultures on the side of the road. They are scary and not the least bit handsome.
I hope you have a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend!
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Bah ha ha!!! Peeping Dor :). What a great post – you gave me my morning smile. I’m surprised you didn’t follow them into the woods!
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Talk about playing hard to get….jeez!
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And what a dear person you are Georgette for this lovely comment! 🙂 Thank you.
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Hahaha! I relate to those who have only seen “a turkey in the freezer.” It was the same for me. There is still much to learn about being a city girl transplanted to the country.
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Such goings on! Sometimes looking out the window yields a better soap opera than on t.v.! 🙂
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🙂 “Turkey Tale” – clever girl! 🙂
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At least turkeys are comical (unless they are marauding en mass), and the “he-bird” is splendid when courting. 🙂
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LOL! I would have followed the happy couple if I could have moved fast enough. Besides, I didn’t want to disturb romance in progress. Sincerely, Peepin’ Dor 🙂
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Hahaha! That Tom knew all the right moves for sure! 🙂
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We get turkeys but I never saw the mating dance. You were so lucky! That would have certainly booked my afternoon at the window! I did see some mallard ducks do the mating game. I lost 3 hours of my life watching them but it was worth every minute. Thanks for the wonderful post!
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And thank you Kate! There is some shame attached to my hypnotic trance watching wildlife procreating. 🙂 Glad to meet another “peeper”. 🙂
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Wow! That is a real “Reality Show.” Have never witnessed that myself, you are so lucky!
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Oh my what a fascinating ritual – you got to love it. Lucky you that you were able to see Tom get himself all puffed and fluffed up! Reminds me of a time that I saw a pair of male/female flycatcher dancing up a storm, what was most of a morning to get 100% in sinc – what tenacity for a pairing. If only humans followed these cues of nature . . .
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Bah ha ha 🙂
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Is that a form of porn?
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I’ve never seen Turkeys do the dance of love. It must have been quite fascinating 🙂
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What a great blog!!!!!!!
I’ve only been lucky to see the male fanned out once but was not privileged to see the whole ritual.
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I love your term, a “real Reality Show.” And for sure it was a lucky viewing through my kitchen window. When are you coming again for a visit? 🙂
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Thanks Mary and “aint love grand?” Especially in the kingdom of the wild. 🙂
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I didn’t know at first it was a dance of love, but after a while it became obvious. What a show he put on! 🙂
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We happened upon this a few weeks ago in a field not far from our house. Hubby stopped for me to get a quick picture. But then we moved on…that must have been amazing to witness!
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LOL! Perhaps it is just so in the animal world. 🙂
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Hi Sandy! Nice to hear from you. And yes it was surely lucky to witness the turkey dance of love. A first for me to even see the male fan too.
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A turkey tryst? Oh dear! You had me laughing at this one — well told story, Dor. 😀
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🙂 Yep, a tryst. I’m sure they had it all planned way ahead of time. They are escapees from a large “herd/flock/bevy?” in the area.
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It was amazing to witness Dianna… all new to me but quite obvious what was happening. I wish I had a picture or a video of the event.
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Who could resist that charm?
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What an amazing thing to be able to witness! I’ve never seen a turkey in full regalia.
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I was stunned Sheryl – and stood perfectly still for the whole episode. 🙂
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