Long Range Turkeys

This morning I sighted a flock of turkeys at our farm, which were at least 300 yards (900ft.) away, and possibly more. I base this estimate from my youth when I hunted woodchucks and knew the distances to all of the strategic spots on our property. After all of those years I can't remember the exact figure, but I am certain it is at least that far.

The first shot shows the Canon XL-H1 Camcorder with the Canon 500mm F4 attached and shows the distance to the turkeys well. They are just above the red arrow. I used a 17-40mm at 19mm to take this shot. As a side note I did take video with the 500mmF4 attached, both with and without a 1.4 extender. Without the extender, this rig is the 35mm equivalent of a 3,600mm lens, with the extender it is 5,040 mm. This is not as good as it sounds because at those magnifications, mirage (atmospheric disturbances), and vibration from wind become a problem. Still I may get some usable video from this encounter


After an extensive videotaping session, I mounted the 500mm on the 40D and took several shots. Check label below each shot for comparisons.

500mm- No Cropping

500mm-Same Photo Severely Cropped

500mm- Canon 2x extender-Severely Cropped

These are certainly not magazine quality, or as Ronald "Buckwheat" Saffer would say, "Front Cover Shots", but I do think it is amazing what can be obtained at such extreme range.

Update

Late in the evening there were more turkeys in the most distant field and now there were several mature gobblers. The birds were milling about and gobbling, preparing to move to a nearby roosting area for the night. This time I used the camcorder with the 100-400mm Canon lens at about 350mm. (for some reason this lens is soft at 400mm when used on the camcorder and does not provide satisfactory high definition video) In this case the turkeys were about 500 yards (1,500 ft.) away.

Canon XL-H1: 100-400mm @ 350 mm-500 yards card camera mode

It is always better to get close if one wants excellent quality photographs, yet this equipment is capable of taking snapshots at amazing ranges if one is unable to approach closer. If conditions are good, the XL-H1 will take usable professional video at these ranges, but one is not able to print high quality enlargements from the captures.

Camera Critters: Winter Gobblers-Few Hard And Fast Rules In Nature

It seems there are few hard and fast rules in nature. It is commonly thought that male wild turkeys, known as gobblers, seldom gobble except during the mating season. In our area of Pennsylvania, mating or "gobbling season", ordinarily begins with the first warm weather in March and comes into full swing in early April. Activity dwindles in late May and is ordinarily over by mid-June.

The flocks of turkeys featured in this post have never figured this out and periodically gobbled and strutted throughout the past winter. The turkeys in the photo below are young gobblers, which many refer to as "Jakes". This is how turkeys look most of the time in winter.

Young Gobblers or "Jakes"

The photo below portrays a mature gobbler with tail fanned out and head partly swollen. It is amazing how a gobbler's appearance changes as he goes through the strutting and gobbling ritual.

Mature Eastern Wild Turkey Gobbler

Even though they are primarily woodland birds, turkeys like to visit meadows. This was one of the most amazing turkey experiences I have witnessed. One flock of birds was on a ridge behind me, while another was in the meadow in front of me.

Gobblers On Ridge

One flock gobbled in unison and the other replied. This continued for several minutes and made the valley ring with thunderous gobbles.

"Mature Gobblers In Full Gobble"(hen or jake to left)

It may have been aberrant behavior, but it made for an interesting winter. It is sometimes difficult to tell in a still photo whether a bird is a hen or a jake, but if one came observe it moving about and view it from different angles, it is usually possible to make a positive identification.

For more Camera Critters, Click Here!

Brush Or No Brush? The Bald Eagle

This is a somewhat redundant post as the second photograph was published last month, but I decided to post it along with another shot of the same encounter with the bird. I am curious as to other photographers opinion about the branch passing in front of the head in the first photo. Does the branch detract from the photograph, or is it an asset? Does it add a more "wild" aspect to the photo or does it detract from the composition by obscuring important detail?



Any input is appreciated.

Middle Creek Trip: A Modest Success

Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area is located near Kleinfelter'sville in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Game Commission manages it primarily for waterfowl, although numerous other types of wildlife may be found.

Deputy Wildlife Conservation Officer, Anthony Carbaugh and I traveled there on Tuesday morning of this week in hopes of seeing the vast flocks of snow geese that visit here during the spring migration, but few of the birds were to be found. It seems most had moved on in the yearly journey to nesting grounds on the arctic tundra.

We did find several other species of waterfowl, but most were too far for good close-ups, even with the powerful telephotos. In a few cases, birds did come close enough for decent photography.

Male Ring Neck Duck

The ring neck duck is a common late winter, early spring visitor to Pennsylvania, but they are ordinarily not seen in large numbers. It seems that ring-billed duck would be a more appropriate name because of the prominent white ring behind the tip of the bill, but there is a narrow band of slightly different colored plumage near the base of the neck, from which the name is taken. The band is not visible in the above photo

Female Scaup

Scaup also pass through Pennsylvania in the same period and look somewhat like the Ring Neck Duck, when one compares males to males and females to females, but notice how the Scaup has a broader beak with no ring near the tip. There are other differences as well, but these are the most prominent.