Funny looking turkeys! But lots of them
Turkey
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These will be about the funniest looking turkeys you ever see. With the exception of this first one, which I took the other day, not realizing the season opened in this area this past weekend, so now they are long gone.
But the other turkeys are going strong and I will show you a few of them.
I'm not getting the joke.
TMBB
I'm guessing you have jumped the gun Bob and if you hold on you will see "the joke."
I used to go up several times each year, to a sage grouse lek that quite near where I live. But over the years, people discovered it and end up scaring them by getting out of their cars and waling around. So I decided to see if I could find a lek near the area I used to hunt them in when I was kid, way back in the 1950's. It took a couple long trips to get it figured out, but I did and now I have a place to go a few times each year when they are strutting.
It requires me getting up at mid night and diving for over 3 hours, packing in a blind and my equipment to the lek, and and having it all set up before they fly in, (which is usually around 4am plus or minus 15 minutes. Then you sit there in the cold (is 0 degrees or below cold?).
They fly in and start their thing all around me, A few times I had birds hit the blind as they fought. But for three hours you basically sit there in the dark, with all this action going on around you and wait for it to get light enough to shoot. Then once it just gets to decent light, they fly away (usually between about 7:30 and 8:15). That is unless a hawk or eagle flies over and they all leave. And I have driven up there and did all I described and had an eagle fly over before I even got to take on photo.
The only people really dumb enough to do that are die hard bowhunters! Ha Ha
But there's a big payoff when things work out right and here are a few photos from those times from this year.
Now I will shut my trap and just post a few funny Turkey photos.
Awesome Pictures,thanks for getting up in the middle of the night!!!!!
Crazy looking birds BB. Awesome Photos !
Just awesome pics BB. Them funny looking Tom's are sure enough strutters.
Sage grouse strut around for the ladies and the rosters fight each other. Usually just with their wings.
But sometimes they use their feet and drawn blood. Such was the case on my last trip.
But sometimes they use their feet and drawn blood. Such was the case on my last trip.
Although bloodied up pretty good, this one still strutted around until it was time to go.
And then he flew off! Hope you guys draw some heavy blood this year and have a great time doing it.
Have a great bowhunt. BB
Spent this morning photographing a lek of lesser prairie chicken with a few greaters mixed in.
writer, please feel free to post some of your photos on this thread. I love grouse and all their mating ritual!
Have a great bowhunt. BB
Great pics, as usual, Bill! Thanks for sharing them with us again.
Interesting to know that they fly in when it’s still dark. Would never have guessed that.
Amazing pics!!! That is some serious passion to do all of that to take pics. However as hunters we understand to effort that must be put out for the reward in the end.
Always impress me BB!! Your photos are excellent as always, thank you for sharing!
Cool pics. How do they taste? The birds, not the pictures.
Awesome photos B.B.! We saw a big male displaying right next to the road on the way home from fishing the Miracle Mile of the North Platte River in Wyoming a couple weeks ago - awesome sight to behold!
Awesome photos Bill! Just what we've come to expect from you.
Thanks! what a great collection of photos of strutting grouse. Appreciate your effort in taking them. There so unusual and down right weird looking to me. Sort of out of this world exotic! The first time I seen one up close was at a guys house in Gillette. He had one mounted in full strut, my first thought was it was a made up taxidermist creation. He assured me that it was a real sage grouse in spring mating display. Been fascinated by them ever since . Again thanks for the pics of the plains bombers or as some call them flying football. Doug
Love those pics Bill. ..... Dumb question(s) ... Do they just disperse into the sage, hither and yawn as small groups or singles? Are the males separate form the females ... except during the mating season? Do they return to the same general "mating" area year after year? How long does this ritual take place - a few days, a week, couple weeks,..?
Thanks, always enjoy when you post pics.
I love that even though you don't post as often here anymore you still post up a thread with your beautiful photos every month or two. Thanks Bill!
Where are those birds found? Would love to take the dog out and get one mounted! Sweet pics!
Great pics. We have some strange turkeys here, too.
Great pics BB ! Your threads are among the very best on Bowsite !
Damn you’re good great pictures always enjoyable Lewis
Bill, your wildlife photos are as good an anyone's. Thanks for sharing them!
That mating ritual is kinda like 1 AM at the bar.......
Great pics BB...... thanks much...... a lot of work goes into that stuff. How far away were the shots?
Inshart and others, I will try to answers the questions you ask.
Sage grouse are found in landscapes with lots of sage, that have small ravines, springs and meadows. Most are found in the intermountain area. (Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado etc. From 6,000 to 7,500 feet is where the majority of them are found.
Leks are areas where they come and have come for many years. By that I meant hundreds if not thousands of years, to the same spot, each year to strut and mate.
My dad used to tell me about them when he was a kid there were thousands upon thousand of them, but its to that way anymore. There number of dwindled and they are becoming quite rare. But their lek activity is something to behold.
For example the lek I like to go to, has at its height over 100 males doing their thing for the ladies, but the hens end up choosing just one or two of the rosters to mate with, so most of the males go without.
This phenomena goes on for about two months, beginning around March first and going in the first weeks of May. Most hens are bred by the end of April and the lek begins to fall off with less participants as time drags into May.
The hens go off to lay and sit the eggs and as spring turns into summer the males and females intermingle in coveys, Grouse season is usually in the late summer or early fall in most states that allow hunting. I hunted them every year when I was in junior and senior high. If you shoot the young birds they are wonderful to eat. My Mom cooked them better than any I have ever had, and her sage grouse are still the best wild bird I have ever eaten.
Well I hope I answered everyone questions. If I didn't ask again and I will try to check back in the answer them.
And here's another funny looking turkey that was lucky enough to photograph. Its a mandarin duck. They are an Asian duck, and very rare ducks and seldom found in the United States. I saw five males and one female the other day walking my dog, but by the time I took her home and got my camera and returned I ended up just finding four males. They have to be the prettiest ducks on earth. I am not a duck person and seldom will take any duck photo, but I love wood ducks and now mandarin ducks are my favorite. I hope some of you can appreciate their beauty and enjoy these photos.
Have a great bowhunt. BB
Well if I bored anyone with these last duck photos, then you must not see these, in the same light I do, and like I said, I am no duck person. God saved some of His best work and beauty for this species! Check the bear forum in a month or so, and I will post a few bear photos, if I am fortunate to get some. I promise I will work hard to achieve that goal.
Have a great bowhunt. BB
Bill, As always, I'm in awe of your photos and your passion is obvious with the work you put in to capture them. Thanks for sharing!