Naif in the Forest by Darrell Berger

Wing Tips to Hiking Boots: Musings of a New, Full-Time Poconos Resident 

I found turkey tracks in the fresh snow by the edge of the road. Three large toes point forward, one small toe points back leaving barely an indentation. The tracks indicated three birds. One ventured down our driveway before retreating. 

Wild turkeys are not the impressive specimens depicted through generations of Thanksgiving decorations in countless elementary school classrooms. Maybe the turkeys I see haven’t had enough to eat, or they had come upon hard times as a species, and the impressive birds of my youth were no more. Turns out these formidable birds still exist. I have probably seen many, just not in the proper circumstances. 

The traditional holiday image is a male turkey in his full display of dominance, ready to mate with as many females as possible and fight other males for the privilege. It is only in this mood that the turkey gobbles. It is his mating call. Turkeys also make a number of other sounds, including clucks, cackles, purrs and whines. One is unlikely to see turkeys in a mating and dominance mode while foraging along a road. 

The strutting male turkey is no more typical of turkeys than is Teddy Roosevelt, his chest expanded, astride a mighty steed at the Museum of Natural History, typical of Americans. 

Turkeys have a large number of predators. Both males and females fight valiantly to protect their eggs. They have been known to attack humans, alligators and bears, and fly fast enough to discourage hawks. They don’t migrate and forage for nuts and berries year round. They sleep in trees, and in groups of a dozen or more. They have excellent sight in the day, but poor night vision. They find safety in numbers and the lower branches of trees. 

Like so many species, including the human, the turkey is often represented only by a dominant male. A more realistic depiction would be to show both males and females with feathers at rest, foraging in a clearing, caring for and protecting their young, looking for food and trying not to be eaten.