Tom Knight
Adult Tom, which shows tail feathers all the same length.
Now that fall has come to High Prairie, the local turkeys which survived the summer should be easily visible crossing the main road, other roads leading down to Swale Creek and, of course, in the fields adjacent to these byways.
All the young birds are full grown by now, after a summer of grasshoppers, seeds and other veggie nutritious goodies. Adult males (correctly termed “Toms”), which have spent the summer in “bachelor flocks,” and the hens, which have spent the summer keeping a watchful eye over their growing broods, will have completely molted their old feathers (over 2,500 pairs per bird) and grown a brand new coat ready for the coming winter. Birds-of-the-year are now in juvenile plumage. Young hens will sport the same colors they will later, if they survive the winter. Young male turkeys are properly called “Jakes” and can be distinguished from adult toms, when they strut and display their tail feathers, by the central four tail feathers being longer than the other tail feathers. Likewise, all male turkeys have iridescent blue-black breast feathers tipped in solid black. When seen head-on, they will shine black. Hen breast feathers are tipped in brown and, aside from obvious size difference, easily differentiated.
A Jake, which clearly shows the four longer tail feathers.
Young male turkeys will average around 10 to 12+ pounds, young hens 6 to 8–9 pounds. Adult males can reach twenty pounds plus. I personally held the record Merriam’s (for all states) of twenty-one pounds, taken in the early 1970’s…since surpassed.
All the turkey from the same geographical area (about a square mile) will now be in one large flock, adults and birds-of-the-year. These flocks can exceed fifty or more birds. When seen in early morning they will be coming from their roosting site; seen in late afternoon they will be heading to their same site for the night. Roosting areas are site-specific. That is, they will be on a north-facing slope with old-growth Doug fir or yellow pine. This site will also catch the first rays of sunlight in the morning and will have an open field beneath it. Anyone with a computer can access Google Earth for the specific area one has seen a flock and can pretty well get an idea of the general roosting site. Turkeys use the same site forever, unless some idiot “roost shoots” the site. If you are a fall or spring hunter, position yourself downslope about a hundred yards or more from the site.
Several fall turkey hunting seasons have opened or are scheduled to do so by the time you read this. Check local hunting regulations (http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01903/wdfw01903.pdf). Wild turkeys in Washington State have responded so well that there are some ares where three per year are legal. In fact, north of Spokane they have become a nuisance species.
So, all you lucky residents of High Prairie, enjoy having in your neighborhood the largest species of game bird in the world!
Photo: Peg Caliendo
Photo: Ken Hansen