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CowboyUp
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Reged: 02/27/04
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Loc: North Texas
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Turkeys
10/29/04 10:56 AM
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Okay, I'm new to country living, but not country life, but what I saw last night really surprised me. I was working on my house about dusk, and I started hearing some commotion in the granddaddy oak trees. I heard turkeys but I was hearing a rustling sound that I couldn't identify. I thought it might be a deer rubbing antlers against the tree (I've never heard or seen that either, so what did I know?) so I snuck up to the tree line to see if I could spy a deer. Nope, it was turkeys in the top of the oak trees. These trees are 20 to 30 feet tall. I've never seen a turkey in a tree like that. Do they roost there? I managed to spook them enough to cause them to fly down into the grass field.
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beenthere
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Wild turkeys always roost in trees (except when they are too young to fly) at night. They continually keep flying up to a higher branch, until finally settled in for the night. They pick the taller trees too.
It is amazing to see a turkey flying through the woods, usually busting brush most of the way.
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CowboyUp
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Thanks for clarifying for me, Beenthere. I honestly had no clue. My property and most of the land around me is full of wild turkeys. It was quite a sight seeing those big birds flying at that height. And, yep, I think I understand about them seeking higher branches. That was the noise I was hearing. They were rustling feathers as they moved upwards through the tree. Really an interesting experience for me. I guess come Thanksgiving I'll know where to set my sights for a turkey feast 
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beenthere
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And the wild ones are much better eating than any tame one, in my book. 
Do some bow hunting for deer, and you will get lots of first hand info on the wild turkeys. They are smart to a point, and have excellent eyesight and hearing. Not much on smell, so wind direction isn't a problem.
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Pat
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There was a fair amount of bow hunting for turkey in these parts. We see as many as 50 in a flock before they break up and take to the leck (sp?) to strut their stuff or be courted.
They are usually pretty crafty and not everyone is fortunate enough to see them roost. Ben Franklin proposed the turkey as the national symbol as a smart robust animal. Instead we ended up a half notch above a buzzard with baldy. Image is everything.
Pat
"I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"
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Al_Wa
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It was quite a sight seeing those big birds flying at that height.
When I was stationed at Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin an F4 flying a low level (500 feet) reconnaissance mission hit a turkey over west texas. The turkey tore off the canopy and the drogue motar for the aircraft commanders ejection seat. The Navigator without so much as a "see ya" ejected. He could see immediately in front of him the damage to the commanders ejection seat. The aircraft commander, with turkey parts stuck in his face, flew the plane 450 miles back to Bergstrom and safely landed, all the time not knowing if he ejected, his seat parachute would not deploy. Guess who got court marshalled?
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johnday
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Loc: monroe michigan, barton city soon
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beenthere; They appear to be smarter than deer. I've seen only one turkey splat but many, many deer!! 
Trucks are red, Tractors are blue.
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gadgetman
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I was Deer hunting many years back and went into my tree stand before day break. Just as it was getting light, I heard this crashing and limb breaking in a tree less than 20 feet from my tree stand. It was making so much noise, I was sure a fellow hunter had moved a tree stand near mine and was in the process of "falling out". Just then, this big turkey came crashing (I think he hit every limb around) by just in front of my tree stand.
After getting my heart to settle down, I was uneasy for the rest of the morning. Until that day, I didn't know Turkeys roosted in trees.
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bczoom
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Turkeys can actually fly a pretty decent distance. They regularly fly over my house (I live in a valley) from 1 ridge to the other. Probably 4-500 feet. When they get to the woods, they do crash though everything and the landings usually aren't very graceful.
Their eyesight is probably their best asset. They can see movement from pretty decent distances and if they see you, they're normally heading elsewhere.
Coyboyup - Re. "I guess come Thanksgiving I'll know where to set my sights for a turkey feast", don't shoot them while they're in the roost (up in the trees). At least around here, it's considered very unsportsmans-like. They do return to the roost, so you can get them on the way to or from the roost.
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CowboyUp
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I may be the poorest shot known to mankind. Those turkeys are safe. They're more likely in danger of hurting themselves by crashing through those trees than they are by me shooting at them. These turkeys we have are fairly brazen. They'll walk within 100 yards of me and pretty much ignore me. They like to play in the field next to my property. Here's a pic I took of some, but they were too far away. All of those things that look like small bushes are turkeys. They were having quite a time of it, chasing each other and squawking. I don't know if they were playing or fighting.
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bczoom
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The pic you posted is similiar to what we get/see here in W. PA.
I wouldn't call them brazen. They're smarter (for self-preservation) than that. They're just accustomed to seeing people in certain areas. Around my back yard, yea, they see me and "expect" I won't do anything to harm them. When I go back in the woods (just 2-300 yards back, in an area they are hunted), they'll be a lot more cautious.
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bczoom
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Oh yea, forgot to mention a thought on this statement:
"I may be the poorest shot known to mankind. Those turkeys are safe. They're more likely in danger of hurting themselves by crashing through those trees than they are by me shooting at them"
If you are going to take up hunting, I wouldn't start with turkey using either gun or bow. In their environment, they're normally too smart for a rookie hunter. A seasoned hunter can go days without getting one.
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