Taken back on Easter Sunday as light snow fell. The guys were doing their best to impress the ladies and put on a fashion show for them. Most of the time thing were quiet but the toms did get a bit aggressive toward each other a time or two. This guy is part of a rafter of turkeys that hangs out in a suburban area not far from where I live. There are some nice, natural open space areas for them but they oftentimes road the streets which is pretty fun and seems out of place.

That’s a face only a mother could love, right? 😀

On the way home from playing ballet taxi for my daughter this evening, I happened across one of the toms from a nearby rafter of turkeys. He made for a quick, fun photo subject and, also gave me a chance to test out my Sigma 150-600 Sports since I calibrated the lens’ autofocus system with a product called FoCal from Reikan.

Continued testing will be the determining factor but on this first outing I have to say I am impressed. This was taken at 600mm from a distance of about 20 yards and is cropped at about 50%. You can make out tons of detail in the bird’s skin and count the hairs coming off its head.

Tom the Turkey looks pretty grumpy today. Not entirely sure why. 😉 From my family to yours, we wish you a very happy Thanksgiving! Thank you for following me. I truly appreciate you taking the time to look at my photos and hope you enjoy them.

Well, this was something that looked a bit odd. I knew turkeys would sometimes hang out in trees but this was the first time I had witnessed it personally. After being scared off by a suburban predator, the coyote I posted pics of a couple of days ago, the flock took flight and some of the turkeys sought shelter up high. As out of place as it might seem, they seemed quite comfortable up there and were undoubtedly safe from Wile E.

With dismal sky conditions last Saturday I didn’t expect it was worth devoting much time to a photo trip on this day so I decided to keep it local and hit up a few places near home. I came across a rafter of 40 or so Turkeys working their way through a field near the South Platte River in Colorado. The toms were all about impressing the ladies, strutting and posturing to gain attention.

Tony says the same as well. 😉 Their faces won’t win any beauty contests but these guys sure can be pretty when they puff up and strut their stuff as this image taken back in May shows.

A couple of images for what we could call Turkey Tuesday! I happened across this gorgeous bird when starting the drive up Trail Ridge Road this past weekend. He seemed quite obsessed with finding the ladies, none of which were nearby that I spotted.

Nevertheless, he would alternate between gobbling very loudly then puffing out and putting his full plumage on display. Best of all, he didn’t mind me being there and put on quite a show for 20+ minutes until I had my fill of pictures and moved on.

I never noticed until then that you can actually hear the feathers make a whooshing sound when they spread out. Kind of cool. Certainly you do have to look past the face a bit to appreciate the beauty of these birds. 😉

Taken in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.

I spotted these turkeys in a rural area not far from home yesterday and got pretty excited at how colorful they were. I quickly flipped a u-turn and grabbed a few shots. As it turns out, getting the pictures was quite easy as they stood very still. 😉

This Turkey tom showed off for the ladies as a rafter moved through my neighborhood a couple of weeks ago.  It was a bit odd – and fun – to have them come strolling through suburbia.  Naturally I whipped out the camera and managed a bunch of pictures of them.

With spring pretty much here it is mating season so the toms are doing their best to get the attention of the hens.  This group has been spotted across a couple of miles of our suburb in recent weeks as, I presume, they look for new foraging grounds.   Taken in Thornton, Colorado.

Certainly wild Turkeys will never win a beauty contest but can they look evil and mean? Apparently so as this picture of one I captured on Sunday shows. 😉

My run-in with this guy and 12 of his rafter-mates was a highly unusual one as they actually were making their way through my very suburban neighborhood. Seeing Turkeys in more rural areas isn’t unusual but having them come through a spot like this was highly unusual. I am guessing they came from a nearby open space about a mile or so away.

Anyway, the encounter allowed me to get some great captures of these birds although many do show signs of suburbia so are not necessarily great wildlife shots.

The unusual appearance of the eyes is because I happened to capture the bird as its nictitating membrane was closed. The membrane is a third eyelid that some birds, reptiles and sharks have. The translucent eyelid provides protection and serves to wipe the eye clean. Taken in Thornton, Colorado.