Fresh snow covered the ground during the night but the breakfast table was set in the trees.
December 4, 2014
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Montana Outdoors 
Lovely to see wild turkeys. The only turkeys I see are those in the freezer, and I guess they didn’t have a life like this, before the end.
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Comment by bentehaarstad — December 4, 2014 @ 11:59 am
I appreciate the wild ones more too. These aren’t too smart though to be so close to people: hunting season on them is still open.
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Comment by montucky — December 4, 2014 @ 8:30 pm
There are turkey’s up and around the farm, but not here. Nice to see a photo of them enjoying a feast.
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Comment by Malcolm R. Campbell — December 4, 2014 @ 12:03 pm
They were really feasting on those berries, which are quite large and have a good flavor. It’s amazing that such large birds can even make it through our winters, but they seem to do well.
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Comment by montucky — December 4, 2014 @ 8:32 pm
I am fascinated by wild turkeys and enjoyed seeing them enjoying a meal! Thanks
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Comment by Anonymous — December 4, 2014 @ 4:44 pm
I’m glad to see that they have a good food supply, at least for now.
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Comment by montucky — December 4, 2014 @ 8:33 pm
I’m glad they made it through thanksgiving! There seems to be an abundance of nuts and berries here this year for them to eat.
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Comment by New Hampshire Garden Solutions — December 4, 2014 @ 5:29 pm
This has been a very good year for berries here too. We have no native nuts though.
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Comment by montucky — December 4, 2014 @ 8:34 pm
Oh, this is wonderful. I haven’t seen any roosting this winter … not yet, anyway … hope that changes. Great photos.
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Comment by Teresa Evangeline — December 4, 2014 @ 6:32 pm
We haven’t had turkeys around for nearly two years, but now there are over 50 that come and go.
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Comment by montucky — December 4, 2014 @ 8:35 pm
Great pictures and what a lucky find.
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Comment by wordsfromanneli — December 4, 2014 @ 6:38 pm
It was very interesting to see them on the Hawthorns. I have never seen them do that before. Those are nasty trees, but these birds didn’t seem to mind.
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Comment by montucky — December 4, 2014 @ 8:36 pm
Very thorny. I guess they were hungry and the berries must be okay to eat – worth the risk of getting scratched up a bit.
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Comment by wordsfromanneli — December 4, 2014 @ 8:39 pm
Those berries are large and nutritious. I eat them myself. They make good meals for larger birds, and the Hawthorns are very numerous here.
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Comment by montucky — December 4, 2014 @ 8:45 pm
Then it’s good that they’re out there for the birds to eat when the snow covers much of their other food.
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Comment by wordsfromanneli — December 4, 2014 @ 8:52 pm
Nature’s strategy.
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Comment by montucky — December 4, 2014 @ 9:31 pm
We have scrub turkeys here that like to dig up the gardens and tip over pots. They spend most of their time on the ground but will roost high in trees as well. I never see them in numbers like your pic though! It’s only one or two at a time. This makes me remember Roald Dahl’s book, “Danny, The Champion of the World” in which there were lots of pheasants roosting in the trees. Our native turkeys are not very bright, but are persistent! 🙂
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Comment by Jane — December 4, 2014 @ 11:25 pm
That behavior is typical of these too. They are pretty and I like for them to be in the wild, but they certainly have no manners. In a sense they are like people, incredibly stupid some of the time, brilliant at other times.
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Comment by montucky — December 5, 2014 @ 12:39 am
What an amazing sight – those wild turkeys sure are colourful in the snow white winter landscape.
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Comment by Vicki — December 5, 2014 @ 7:35 am
They sure do stand out in the snow. I have a love – hate relationship with them. They are fun to watch, but they are true barbarians when it comes to being in the yard.
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Comment by montucky — December 5, 2014 @ 7:27 pm
Hope they had a great feast! We have lots of wild turkeys here in our area and I’m always seeing some in our yard. Recently one trotted right past the front porch, continued through our front yard, crossed the road and scurried into the brush on the other side. I think they’ve gotten braver since our cat died! 😉
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Comment by Mama's Empty Nest — December 5, 2014 @ 8:56 am
They get very bold around here. A cat wouldn’t faze these guys. Maybe I could have a pet lion.
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Comment by montucky — December 5, 2014 @ 7:28 pm
Turkeys! Took me a second or two to figure out what they were! We have nothing so big, except maybe escaped peacocks! Brrrr, it looks cold.
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Comment by Jo Woolf — December 5, 2014 @ 11:17 am
These are big. I watch them fly with awe. You wouldn’t think something that big could fly that well!
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Comment by montucky — December 5, 2014 @ 7:29 pm
Cool, I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen a wild turkey. They make for some easy birdwatching, being so big and just sitting there. I hope they can escape the hunters…
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Comment by Candace — December 5, 2014 @ 10:14 pm
Wild turkeys are like a lot of people: at times they are incredibly stupid, but at others, brilliant. Very paradoxical birds.
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Comment by montucky — December 5, 2014 @ 11:52 pm
Loved seeing these photos! Wonderful to see them dining on Hawthorne berries. I’ll bet they stayed until almost all of the berries were gone.
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Comment by WildBill — December 6, 2014 @ 10:09 am
There are plenty of Hawthorns on that hillside, so it will take them awhile, but lately there are a lot of turkeys too. Today a flock of Cedar Waxwings was eating the Black Hawthorn berries too.
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Comment by montucky — December 6, 2014 @ 9:07 pm
It took me a minute to figure out that they were turkeys. I’ve seen plenty of wild turkeys (well, maybe 3-4 times a year, usually in pairs or small groups) but they’re always on the ground, running. Of course, I see them where grass and cornfields are plentiful, so that may be a smart move on the part of the turkeys. When they make a run for the corn, they can disappear in a flash. It’s probably better than flying, especially since up-in-the-air can equal “target” during hunting season.
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Comment by shoreacres — December 6, 2014 @ 11:53 am
Single or small families of turkeys can often be seen here in summer too, but this time of winter they congregate into huge flocks of 50 or more and raid the places along the valley that have a southern exposure and a lot of the snow melts away before the next storm comes through. The are clearly the barbarians of the bird world, but I’m fascinated by all of the calls they have. They talk all of the time and I’m beginning to understand a lot of their vocalizations.
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Comment by montucky — December 6, 2014 @ 9:11 pm
Hi Montucky, Such wonderful ornaments on that snowy tree! Nice and unusual pictures! Have a great coming week!
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Comment by wildlifewatcher — December 7, 2014 @ 4:56 pm
Yes, rather large tree ornaments, aren’t they. Lol!
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Comment by montucky — December 7, 2014 @ 9:04 pm
Absolutely wonderful photos- I’ve never seen the turkeys around here up that far feeding off the ground!
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Comment by Watching Seasons — December 11, 2014 @ 2:45 pm
I often see those big things fly way up into a pine tree to roost, but this was the first time I’ve seen them feeding in the hawthorns.
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Comment by montucky — December 11, 2014 @ 8:06 pm
Gorgeous photos. My favorite is last one.
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Comment by Sartenada — December 18, 2014 @ 3:09 am
I like that one too. That’s a big bird on those small branches!
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Comment by montucky — December 18, 2014 @ 8:19 pm