I looked back in my "Bud's View" column files and found it's been more than five years since I wrote about wild turkeys.

This is a good time for a turkey talk since this is the season when the main food staple at many family Thanksgiving dinner gatherings is a turkey.

Very few gatherings that bring family members together from near and far to give thanks with their loved ones will include dining on wild turkey. We've had wild turkey as our main entrée for our holiday dinners several times and there was nothing to indicate that it had not been purchased at the local supermarket.

There seems to be plenty of misinformation about wild turkeys. I've heard radio deejays, who while giving free turkeys to lucky holiday listeners, express inaccuracies about wild turkeys: that they cannot fly, are dim-witted, slow-moving and clumsy.

In actuality, the wild turkey has sharp hearing and eyesight, an instinctive gift to cleverly hide from predators, the ability to reach 40 to 50 mph during flights covering more than one mile, and they can swim. They usually flee from danger on foot, reaching speeds of up to 18 mph.

I use a metal ladder tree-stand for deer hunting and nature photography. The tree-stand is near the bottom of a steep incline. On many occasions, within 30 minutes before dusk, I've observed flocks of wild turkeys slowly feeding as they walk toward the top of the hill.

They spend the night roosting on sturdy branches near the tops of trees growing at the bottom of the hill. Rather than expending energy necessary to fly from the ground to their tree top roosts, they fly parallel from the top of the hill to the tree tops. Dim-witted birds? I don't think so.

The wild turkey found in the Lehigh Valley region is similar to the domesticated turkey, but is a more slender bird. North American turkeys, including the domesticated bird, belong to a single but highly variable species: Meleagris gallopavo. Most taxonomists recognize at least six sub-species.

Those found in Pennsylvania is referred to as the Eastern wild turkey. Domestic turkey breeds were developed from the wild turkey. The Aztec Indians of Mexico were the first to tame and raise turkeys.

The average male turkey, called a tom or gobbler, stands about three feet tall, stretching about three to four feet from beak to tail. Females, called hens, are about one-third shorter and weigh about half as much as the males. Toms average 16 to 18 pounds while hens weigh about 10 pounds. Toms may occasionally reach a weight of 25 pounds or more.

The wild turkey prefers open woodlands and mature forests. They do not migrate, but they do travel in search of available food. In the summer, turkeys feed on snails and insects with a strong preference for grasshoppers. They eat a variety of spring vegetation, including green plant shoots. In the fall and winter, they rely on dry berries, fruits, acorns and other nuts.

We have about 25 mature oak trees (six species) growing on our wooded property. In a normal fall, there are acorns lying everywhere. Taking a walk through our yard is akin to walking on a bed of marbles. This year, for some reason, very few acorns were produced. A low production of mast crops like acorns usually affects the turkey populations during the following year.

Wild turkeys tend to travel in flocks. In spring, the males perform courtship displays where they puff out their body feathers and chests, fan their tails and slowly strut around voicing the familiar turkey gobbling sounds, all with the anticipation of attracting a bevy of hens. Their strutting techniques are reminiscent of the colorful feather-covered dancers preforming their routines during the Mummers Parade on New Year's Day in Philadelphia.

Nests are simple leaf-lined depressions on the ground. The hen usually lays one egg each day until she has laid an average of nine to 15 creamy colored eggs speckled with reddish-brown and black spots. She does not begin incubating until all the eggs are laid. In this way, the eggs hatch around the same time. The egg color, similar to most ground-nesting birds, provides camouflage for the eggs and nest.

Turkeys spend their nights roosting on sturdy branches near the tops of tall trees. Hens stay on their nests at night during the nesting season. Incubation lasts about 28 days. The hatchlings, called poults, are precocial. They are born covered with fine feathers, open eyes and are able to move about shortly after hatching. Poults are able to walk and feed themselves within 24 hours.

Wild turkey populations have made a great comeback across Penn's Woods. Turkey populations had been very low. The Pennsylvania Game Commission began experimenting with raising and releasing turkeys in the wild. This method did not work very well. Pen-raised birds were too tame and did not adapt to their natural environment. They were easy prey for predators like large raptors and foxes and coyotes.

Trapping and transferring wild birds proved to be a much better method of increasing wild turkey numbers. Today, the wild turkey is a self-sustaining bird species found throughout most of the Keystone State.

That's the way I see it!

I wish you a glorious and very happy Thanksgiving holiday.

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