Jake turkeys are busy gobbling in the ponderosa pine clad hills north of Valentine. It is the time of their season to strut about with their particular flock of gathered hens.
The males display all of their avian splendor with tail feathers raised, wings drooping and with multihued coloration obvious on their head and neck. Their beard is obvious and well as a dangling wattle. The display is suitably impressive for the hens.
The local flock on a first couple of days this April has dwindled to 16 though it had numbered more than 20 about ten days ago. There are two jakes and the remainder females gathered until they disperse to raise a brood.
Usually the birds keep close as they walk about foraging on natural foods but some diverge to eat readily available bird seed. They especially like the sunflower seeds when more is put out for the other wildbirds such as juncos and red-winged blackbirds, because the big poultry return to eat again at least two or three times a day. In the morning they have to compete with some bigger white-tailed deer that prefer being fed rather than having to forage on a lesser growth of not yet green plants on a nearby hillside.
Breeding season antics were especially noticeable on April 2nd, a warming and sunny morning. Some hens were moving around the “top tom” and soon the king acted to interact to establish another generation. After moving around behind a particular hen ready to submit, he went into action as she crouched on the ground. The top turkey did this three times within 15 minutes. When the alternate “tom turkey” had a female showing particular interest, the “king” ran over to prevent any action by some interloper. This was very frustrating to the male lower in the hierarchy as it reacted with faux action of breeding.
After each distinct coupling, the female would walk away, shaking her feathers and then quickly getting back to the basics of finding something edible on the ground. One female ran a few circles until eventually deciding to return to the flock. The “tom turkey” is a heavy weight during its time standing atop the lesser weight females.
On some occasions a hen or two might return to the seed buffet without the flock because they know where to get something to eat without being disturbed by congeners. This is an indication of the flock already dispersing. Even on the 3rd, the males noticeably displayed less. Vocal gobbles were fewer.
Soon this particular flock – and many others of a similar ilk in the birdly wildlands – will disperse and the big toms will wander around since their time of importance is finished. They will continue to eat and thrive as part of a bachelor group while the hens will be at a nesting place where she can safely incubate eggs and then care for little turkeys in a manner to ensure their survival for many months and at least until next year after winter when the cycle of the spring will repeat.
The activities are a time of the season and this birdly behavior is a sight in many parts of the local country.
On the morning of the 4th, the flock size had returned to 24 individuals as seven hens and one jake returned. During the morning, even some of the hens were being antagonistic towards each other, and even getting in shoving matches.