Fun Forest Facts! #4

Let's Talk Turkey!

It was a beautiful day, today!! Warm. Breezy. Sunny. A perfect day for a nature walk! We took Maggie to a lovely park, just below the escarpment. Lot's of trails, streams, and open fields. The trees are budding, flowers are blooming everywhere, and the grass is getting greener. Birds chirping, butterflies fluttering around us. I felt completely happy, surrounded by true beauty.

As we rounded a small circle of bushes, we abruptly stopped! There in front of us, was a very large bird! As we got closer, we realized that it was a wild female turkey! She was beautiful!

Did you know, that Ontario is home to only ONE type of wild turkeys, called the Eastern. Fancy name MELEAGRIS GALLOPAVO SILVESTRIS. Wild turkeys went extinct in Ontario, due to hunting, and loss of habitat. However, they were reintroduced in 1984, and are now a common sight in Ontario, and Quebec. Some scattered populations can also be found in Western Canada.

Male turkeys are called "toms", and female turkeys are called "hens". Adult turkeys can have more than 6000 feathers, and they do fly! At night, they fly up into trees to roost. They mostly inhabit forests, but they will wander into open fields and grasslands, to feed. They eat fruit, acorns, beech and hickory nuts, and amphibians. Wild turkeys can run at speeds of up to 19 kilometers per hour!

Maggie was quite intrigued with this majestic girl, but knew to keep her distance. The lovely hen was very calm, and seemed quite comfortable in her surroundings. Fields and forests, ponds and streams, all available to her.

I was fascinated with her presence there. I felt peaceful, and grateful, that I get to share this planet with so many precious beings. Keep an eye out! Who knows what YOU might see, on your next nature walk! Gobble Gobble!