I Hunt Wild Turkeys With a Camera

It was exciting to see the big group of turkeys coming by almost every day, and sometimes twice a day. They would make their rounds within an hour or two after dawn, and in the later afternoon, too.

They would vary their circuit, though they usually came from the east side and left via the west or northwest.

Wild turkeys may not look beautiful, but they have a certain romance. Ben Franklin thought that the Wild Turkey, and not the Bald Eagle, should be our national bird. “Turkey” was a good thing in his book!

It was surprising how close to the house and buildings they would come, even into the driveway and front yard, unless something spooked them. Like me, peeking around a corner or car to take their picture.

We have a large yard and garden space out back, which opens up to farm fields and woods. The fence rows have a lot of trees, including oak and mulberry, to produce food for them. Part of the property is open space, and another big section has a grove of pine trees and tall grass.

And there is a nature preserve not too far away, with 200 acres of woods, two small lakes and a large wetland.

Whenever the turkeys came around, I ran to get my camera to take pictures.

I know that turkeys are wary, have good eyesight, and are not easy to trick, so I used the techniques I’ve learned when photographing other birds.

• First, approach in a quiet, slow manner. Use obstacles to your advantage, keeping a bush or tree between you and them as you can work your way in.

• Then stand still and don’t make any sudden movements. It helps to keep the camera at shoulder height from the beginning, so you don’t have to move much to see the screen and take the photo.

• After that just take pictures. If you wait for the exact right moment, it may be gone before your camera has time to focus and grab the image.

One advantage of digital photography: you don’t run out of film. If I think I’ll be taking a lot of pictures, I can switch to a fresh battery before I go out.

Birds can see that green light the camera uses to calculate distance and focus. Sometimes I’ll pre-set the focus on an object that’s at the same distance as the birds, then pan over to the subject just before pressing the shutter button.

I kept at it, taking pictures whenever the turkeys came around, though my camera only had an 8x optical zoom. It wasn’t enough to get the results I wanted. But I’m happy to keep hunting turkeys with a camera, when I get the chance.

They had been visiting so regularly. Everyone in the neighborhood must have known they were around. One day, they just stopped coming. And we haven’t seen them since.

I have not found out what happened for sure. I’d like to think they found a cozy spot in a cornfield, and have gotten ready for winter on free meals.

But it’s also possible that something else happened. We do have a turkey season around here, once a year for a couple of weeks in the fall, for bow hunting. Or it could have been something else.

We have wild turkeys due to reintroduction efforts that started more than 60 years ago. Biologists found that they had to trap and relocate wild birds to be successful. Releasing domesticated turkeys didn’t work. Those birds seem to have lost their wild survival skills.

I don’t think our neighborhood turkeys would have been likely to be fooled into entering a fenced area. And they can fly well enough to get over any barrier, unless it had a top.

Maybe we’ll see them again in the winter or spring. I got a new camera with a 40x optical zoom, so I’m ready to take their picture!

The morning was frosty and cold, but they seemed unconcerned. They stopped along the fence row, in a spot that was warming in the morning light.

They looked around, and preened their feathers. Sometimes they checked out the ground for something to eat, in no hurry to move on. Maybe they knew it would be easy to disappear into the trees quickly if anything came by to disturb their peaceful morning.

The earthy colors and the patterns on their feathers blended in well with the turning leaves, falling gently from the trees.

I thought the turkeys looked good. Maybe they had just been on a vacation, having a feast out in the tall corn. The low angle of the bright light made their feathers look glossy and rich.

I took a lot of pictures with my new camera. They gave me a good half hour before they decided to head out back toward the woods and corn fields.

I'm very satisfied with the pictures I was able to get with my new camera, the one with 40x optical zoom. I could keep a distance that was comfortable for the birds, yet close enough to see them in vivid detail.

Wild turkeys don't go anywhere for the winter. They will find some protected places to stay, and continue their daily hunt for food.

Will we see them again? I hope so!