THE TURKEY TROT -- A NEW TYPE OF DANCE!

I know everyone is familiar with the "fox trot", a type of dance for you non-dancers.  But have you ever seen the "turkey trot", or "turkey dance" as some would call it?

Let me give you some history.

As you know we live on a farm.  We have lots of wild turkeys.  Lots and lots of them.  They are not particularly pretty birds, big, lumbersom, they stumble and bumble along as if they do not have a clue as to what they are doing.  They very rarely fly.  When they do they just barely clear the ground.  Their biggest challenge is in the evening, when they fly up into the trees to roost.
It is in the trees where they spend their nights.

We see turkeys frequently (like every day) somewhere on the farm.

However, in the spring the turkeys do a transformation.  The gobblers (males) begin to strut their stuff, tail feathers fanned,  chests puffed out, just showing the hens (females) how handsome they are.

This particular day a week or so ago, Jerry and I were in the dining room (one wall of our dining room is all glass - what a view!) when we some some turkeys just coming over the top of the hill into what was, last year, a corn field.  As we watched they just kept coming and coming.  The gobblers were puffing, the hens were ignoring.

As we watched, they stumbled and bumbled down across the corn field into our back yard.  There were 3 gobblers, half a dozen jakes (young gobblers) and about two dozen - yes you read this right - hens.  And the turkey trot began.

The 3 gobblers began their dance, trying to entice the hens to notice them, to accept them.  We have seen one, sometimes two, gobblers at the same time dancing, but this was the first time we had three all together, all dancing to the same tune.  We watched and watched. 

In the above picture you can see the three gobblers, and one hen laying in front of them, obviously trying to decide which of the three she would choose.  Considering their limited intelligence, I imagine the choice will be pretty hard.  You can just tell each of the gobblers is saying "take me, take me".  And the dance continues.

Again, two of the gobblers and one hen, sort of ignoring them. You can just see the bottom of the cornfield in the top of the picture.  And still they dance.

You can just imagine these gobblers thinking "Where'd they go?  They were here just a minute ago".

In a few weeks now, as the turkeys stumble into view, you will see chicks running along with them, learning what bugs, seeds, worms, etc., to eat.  A brand new life cycle is beginning for the turkeys, and, who knows, one of these days it may be one of those chicks who is strutting his stuff, tail feathers fanned, chest puffed, trying to show the "girls" that he is the best dancer of all.

I hope you have enjoyed the "turkey dance" as Jerry and I call it.  I know we did.  Again, to all things there is a season, and this is the season for the turkeys to dance.  Enjoy each and God Bless.