In late May, several people observed a wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) on and near the Haul Road trail.  Our FODM breeding bird survey leader Larry Cartwright reported on May 29, 2022, “A hen wild turkey strolled down the path near the Haul Road entrance. The turkey was icing on the cake.”

The next day, FODMer Ed Eder snapped a photo and speculated, “The well-fed turkey is probably consuming a lot of insects in the native planting area.”  On May 30, 2022, Leila Saldanha took several photos of “our” turkey.

Despite being the brunt of popular jokes, wild turkeys are beautiful birds, with a bronze-green iridescence to much of their plumage and dark- and white-barred wings.  They typically scratch the leaf litter and search the ground for nuts, berries, insects and snails.

Photos by Leila Saldanha