In his May 5 Thursday Opinion essay, “Those Anacostia turkeys are a miracle of conservation,” Keith Urbahn neglected to mention the factors and efforts by true conservationists (non-hunters) that brought wild turkeys back from the brink of extinction after hunters slaughtered them with reckless abandon. One element of the species’ recovery was the Great Depression. […]
Tag: Wild Turkey

‘He’s like Al Capone’: turkey on the loose ruffles feathers in Rhode Island town
At the beginning, the turkey was a mere curiosity. It had arrived in the town of Johnston, Rhode Island, in May, along with two other birds, and taken up residence outside town hall. Wild turkeys aren’t uncommon in this part of the world, but people thought it unusual when the birds were still hanging around […]

POLL: Should the tradition of throwing wild turkeys from a plane be allowed?
For over 50 years, it’s been a tradition at the annual Yellville Turkey Trot festival in Arkansas for a plane flown by someone only known as the “Phantom Pilot” to fly about 1,000 feet over the crowd and drop live turkeys to the ground. Festival-goers then chase and catch the turkeys – the ones that […]

A Bird Sanctuary In Killingworth, CT Pt. IV
Young birds became a rewarding event at Casa Almeida in Killingworth, Connecticut, in the 2017 summer season. On the eve of the parade to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the naming of the town of Killingworth, CT, flags drape the utility poles around the center of town. Many are at half-mast at municipal buildings […]

A Bird Sanctuary In Killingworth, CT Pt. II
It was fairly quickly learned that the feeders used to attract wildlife didn’t entice just the birds. In mid-winter as the squirrels appeared to become more numerous, they became destructive and a disturbance to the winged creatures. Eastern Bluebirds briefly investigated a pair of bird houses that had been hung for them but the squirrels […]

The Pathological Moseyers Visit the Bog
I was in Colorado this month during the annual Sax-Zim Bog Birding Festival. It’s sad when even a lovely conflict makes me miss the wonderful local event, so on Saturday I headed to the bog with my little birding dog Pip and my friend Lisa. Earlier in the week, the forecast had called for snow […]

Wild Turkeys
I’m sitting here at home testing out my upgraded internet connection. It only took 5 days for CenturyLink to upgrade my service from 3 to 10 Mbps. So now I’m watching internet TV. I guess I’m in a somewhat retro mood, and I’m watching the classic TV series, WKRP in Cincinnati, the Turkey episode–you know, […]

Markham Woods Tract of Wekiwa Springs SP, 5/15/2013
This morning I decided to try a new place. There’s a tract of the Wekiwa Springs State Park that is in Seminole County. It’s a very pretty park, and shortly after arriving, I heard a Summer Tanager greeting me to the park. I never did see it; it was pretty far off the trail. But […]