A Scenic...
...and a backlit.
Two different gobblers just a few acres away. What you can't see is 2 jakes apiece, strutting their stuff also.
You can identify jakes by their shorter beards.
On another note, getting close to turkeys is not an easy task. Turkeys have great eyesight, and just a small flinch in the field will send them running. All of these shots are taken out my car window, which is tough on its own. You stop your car to shoot, and they run. These guys were semi-cooperative because of the distance between us, although the backlit one was about as close as I have ever gotten. A moment and a few frames fired off is about as good as it gets with my tactics, so I make them count with a steady shutter if I'm lucky...
Love these! I have trouble getting close to them too - except for a few days ago when about 10 of them were spotted right here in town. I posted photos of them a few days ago.
ReplyDeleteI have been pretty fortunate to get some nice shots myself and all from my car window as well.
ReplyDeleteLove the photos, Peggy.
ReplyDeleteIt is very hard to get good photos of them in most cases.
I rely on a blind and feeding them to attract them, which is still legal in PA, but who knows for how long.
I have been fortunate in that I can keep most of the hunters away from these birds and they have become fairly acclimated to me. I can recall when they were so scary that even a slight movement of the lens in the blind would send them into frantic running or flight. The turning point was when the deer became acclimated to me and would feed in front of the blind and then it seems the turkeys realized if the deer could do it without harm that they could too and it sort of went from there. I would like to know how many years I have been photographing some of the same old gobblers. I was used to the situation you describe here and if my current situation ends I would be lost for getting close up turkey photos.
I looove turkeys! The feathers are so pretty. Great pictures, too.
ReplyDeleteWasn't Hannibal the Etruscan general who ambushed the Romans by bringing elephants through the top of Italy instead of going across the Medditeranian? Cool name!