As we were greeting the day this morning and looked out the window, what—to our won- dering eyes—should appear, but a half-dozen members of our local band of wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo), wandering about, scratching, and pecking in the grass exposed by the slowly-disappearing snow. They were on full alert, though, and as soon as they saw us through the window, they spread their amazingly-wide wings and retreated up into the branches of our giant old maple. When I took Limo out for his morning constitutional walk a few minutes later, they were still there, so I went back in for my camera.
I’ll also take this opportunity to bring you a couple of rather more intimate shots that I made on Christmas Day, when they were foraging not far from our front door. Aren’t they lovely?
krikitarts 
Wow, the detail in that last shot is absolutely incredible :). Great job Gary!!
What can I say? Their visages are indeed incredible, and I’m so happy for the opportunity to be able study them in such detail. Thanks again, Cindy (and Frances)!
Gotta admire their hairdresser!
Great shots.
Yeah, you gotta wonder how long it takes to get that do just so…
Good to see the turkeys up close. I’ve seen them many times before in the Blue Ridge of Virginia, but never close enough to see all that detail.
Thanks for your comment and your visit, Jo Ann! I have very fond memories of the Blue Ridge area and am looking forward to another visit in the near future.
Love these Gary .. especially the 3rd and 4th shots..
Thanks, Helen, somehow they always seem to be planning something nefarious…
A face only a mother could love :-) Great shots Gary I’m surprised they let you get so close.
The two up in the Maple weren’t actually that close, but with the others, it was more a matter of sitting still and waiting for them to come close to me!
So interesting looking these birds aren’t they – beauty in a strange way – gorgeous colours and really interesting shapes!
I like the clarity of your images do you use Canon system by any chance ;) … by the way this is the first time I’m seeing wild turkey
Hello, Nikolay, and thank you for your interest. I have just had a first look at your website and am very grateful for you compliments on the clarity of my images–clarity is obviousaly a top priority in your work as well. Most of my work is the result of my Nikon system, though I also use compact Pentax (Optio) waterproof cameras as well. I’d be happy to supply metadata for any particular image that may interest you in particular, if you wish. I apologize for having taken so long to respond to your comments, but I’ve just returned from a month in New Zealand and am struggling to catch up! –Gary
Great collection of photos, I love the last shot, that detail in the Turkey is amazing! All the Turkey’s little face hairs have caught the light :)
Thanks, Alana, it’s wonderful when they cooperate like that–it was more like they were checking me out instead of the other way around!