Talk turkey

Turkeys, a set on Flickr.

In November, the local turkey population appears around sunset, en masse, and the males are starting to put on their show. The colours and the shape of their faces, change in moments.

There are a couple of almost-white turkeys, one a hen who raises many chicks each year. This year, eight of the nine survived, at least until they were old enough to mingle with the rest of the crowd and not follow mother around.

While they often fall prey to the local coyotes, and the number seems to dwindle, all of a sudden there are forty or more, beeping and gobbling and strutting and running and hopping up into trees where they roost for the night. There is always one with a limp, dragging its foot, but she always manages to keep up.