"A Sand County Almanac"

"THERE ARE SOME WHO CAN LIVE WITHOUT WILD THINGS AND SOME WHO CANNOT."
"FOR US IN THE MINORITY THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE GEESE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN TELEVISION.".....Aldo Leopold



"LOOK DEEP INTO NATURE, AND THEN YOU WILL UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING BETTER".....Albert Einstein


“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves”.....John Muir


Monday, April 10, 2017

Wild Turkeys, The Beauty and The Ugliness

We are blessed with an abundance of wild turkeys in central Maryland.  This is the mating season when males are seeking females.  I found a flock of nearly a dozen birds while patrolling my usual routes...

The gobbler in the next photo has a long beard and would be considered a trophy by most hunters...

The gobbler shown below is a young bird with a short beard.  Young birds are often called "jakes" and most hunters would avoid shooting them...

Now for the ugly side of the natural world. Yesterday I came across a large gobbler that a red fox had seized by the neck.  As soon as I stopped the fox ran off, but the turkey remained motionless.  He stood with his head drooping and it became apparent that his neck was broken. A few faltering steps were all that he could manage..





This life and death drama plays out countless times every day.  Most of the time humans are not present to observe or photograph the circle of life.
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