The squirrels encounter a really big bird.
A wild turkey girl made an appearance at the feeder today. The squirrels looked as if Godzilla had come to town. Wild turkeys were reintroduced to the east end of Long Island several years ago. They...
View ArticleShould Wild Turkeys Be the National Bird?
Here at the edge of the wood we remember our favorite founding father, scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. In a letter to his daughter he stated his preference for the wild turkey. He wrote, “I...
View ArticleIt’s spring….what are turkeys thinking about?
In the spring a gentleman turkey’s mind turns to finding lady love. As with most in the bird kingdom, the males don exquisite plumage and make a great dancing display to attract that special hen....
View ArticleHow Do Squirrels Do All Those Fancy Moves?
How do squirrels climb anything anytime anywhere? Darrin Lunde, a member of the mammalogy department at the American Museum of Natural History was asked by a NYT reader how a squirrel he saw at Yankee...
View ArticleCan Turkeys Do Math?
Here at the edge of the wood we have never been good at math. No problem because it turns out our animal friends excel beyond our wildest dreams. Pigeons have shown that not only can they count but...
View ArticleCan Turkeys Read?
Sadly no, these wild turkey babies, called poults, have no use for the Encyclopedia Britannica but they do imprint on the first thing they see as newborns. We salute naturalist Joe Hutto who became a...
View ArticleWhy Are Turkey Chicks So Cute?
We here at the edge of the wood are head over heels about the many wild turkey chicks in our midst. Zoologist Konrad Loranz argued way back in 1949 that the typical baby face – big eyes, small noses...
View ArticlePortrait of a Turkey as a Young Girl…
We wish this lovely hen the best because who knows, she could be eating for 13!
View Article5000 Feathers and Counting
A wild turkey has between 5000 and 6000 feathers, some in striking iridescent gold and bronze. So the next time you want to draw the classic turkey by outlining your hand, you might want to ask a few...
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