Portage River Farm

A few weeks ago as I was getting my workday underway, I got an excited call from Janet. She and the kids had just been leaving the house and spotted something along the driveway that they just had to share. A pair of turkeys had crossed the driveway in front of them. To their delight, the adults were followed by a fuzzy little crowd of ten poults bobbing across the drive behind them.

As the days have passed since, they regularly tell me of seeing this little family beneath the pine trees along the drive. I have mentioned it to a few neighbors and it seems from their responses that turkeys have not been common here in the past. People seem excited that they are hearing of turkeys appearing with greater frequency and our account only adds to the evidence.

This morning I received yet another excited call. This time I was amazed to hear that in addition to greeting the original twelve birds, they had driven just a little further up the drive and observed a second group of turkeys with three adults and even more poults than the first!

I have to admit that I'm surprised our little woods at the front of our property is big enough for that many turkeys. I also know that the same area supports ring-necked pheasants because I have heard the cocks calling there a number of times. I know that my eventual addition of cattle to that area of the property will remove some of the underbrush that makes this area so attractive. Hopefully they will be able to relocate to another area of the farm or into the game preserve just across the road.

Turkey photo: Jon Sullivan

Pheasant photo: US Fish and Wildlife Service