Gobble Gobble Gobble

There is a major turf war taking place at Turney Manor. Every morning I'm greeted not by the sweet chirping of the swallows and blue jays but by the gobbling of the turkey. Yes, it is turkey mating season and the competition is particularly stiff this year. I've never seen so many turkeys in all my years of living in the woods of North Idaho.

On Saturday I heard the unmistakable gobbling of a tom so I decided to have some fun with him. I stood on our upper deck and used one of Chase's three turkey calls. As I called the tom closer, his gobbling grew more intense and fervent. He searched in vain to find the illusive female calling to him. Little did he know that as he walked closer to the house he was walking towards Kitty, who was just waiting for the right moment to attack. (Kitty has been coveting a turkey trophy for years.) But Kitty decided that this tom was too big for him and just watched as he strutted by.

Have you ever seen a tom turkey when he calls to a female? It's hilarious! They throw their neck straight out as though straining to get out the sound and "gobble gobble gobble" very quickly. Then periodically the tom unfurls what God gave him and shimmies around strutting his stuff. Although turkeys are not the most beautiful bird, they are quite handsome when they present their feathers.

The competition for females this year must be fierce as the toms are very aggressive. Yesterday morning I witnessed a young male and an older male (who rudely woke me up) engage in a gobbling competition underneath my window. They faced off and started towards each other gobbling in unison as they advanced. It was quite the rumble. Finally they lost interest in each other and headed off in search of potential mates. (For some reason this brings to mind the cat walk-off in Zoolander.)

This morning the old male (who is HUGE) was back and Dad used one of the turkey calls to draw him towards the house. Just as we had him gobbling up a storm, he suddenly turned tail and ran towards the woods. We couldn't figure out why he ran when all of the sudden a trio of young toms came from the other direction. I guess the older tom didn't think he could take on three young studs.

The most hilarious thing to watch is when three toms gobble in unison. I don't know how they synchronize their gobbling but it's the funniest thing to watch them thrust out their necks in unison and "gobble gobble gobble". With all the entertainment they provide, maybe turkeys are more than just good meat...