With the unseasonably warm weather, the turkey mating season has been well underway for the past few weeks, and even though the last few mornings have been either cold or windy, activity continues to be exceptional. I never cease to be amazed at how the appearance of the mature gobblers and jakes change when they engage in the courtship ritual. Normally they are a sleek looking bird, with a small and not particularly attractive head.
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| Jake Pauses To Look For Danger |
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| Jakes Preparing To Roost In Evening |
Contrast these photos with those of a similar bird when he is aroused and strutting in full courtship display.
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| Jake Struts |
Even more impressive is the sight of a mature gobbler performing the courtship display, and a morning spent photographing these magnificent birds ranks near the top of things that I like to do,
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| Mature Gobbler Struts-Note Wings Dragging The Ground |
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| Two Gobblers Strutting |
All photos were taken with the Canon 7D and 500mm F4 L lens at f4 aperture at either ISO 200 or 400.
Originally published at
Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.
10 comments:
They become gorgeous and so impressive.Fantastic photos.
Great shots. They are fun to watch.
awesome gobblers! You and Coy sure are making turkey fever boil here this morning :)
Excellent closeups! Wish I could get as close as you guys!
Super shots. I can understand the joy you get out of watching this species.
Ah - the 2 bros have Gobblers on show, great pics my friend.
Hope all is well with you and family.
Hello Dude,
Really, you have taken great photos! Thanks for a great blog. I was able to get the information that I had been looking for. Thanks once again.
Birth Of a Manta Ray
Wow, what else can I say. These are awesome shots, so clear and perfect. You get and atta boy Willard.
Georgous images, Willard! I will HAVE to show these to Mister. He`s already getting keyed up to go spring gobbler hunting!
the last shot is amazing!
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