Talking turkey

Had a busy day at work today, and then an appointment after work, so I didn't have too many chances to get out to take some pics. But I did manage to snag a couple of shots at lunchtime, as Sam demonstrated that strong dogs can come in small packages:





On my way home I noticed a group of turkeys in a field, helping themselves to whatever was left behind after the cows were fed today. Luckily the shoulders on that stretch of road are fairly wide, so I was able to pull over safely not far from where they were. These aren't the best shots in the world, as it was very overcast this evening, but I wanted to share them nonetheless.

A trio of females (hens):



That's another hen on the left side of the photo, and a male turkey (tom) on the right. Thanks to growing up with a turkey hunter, I knew without even glancing at my book that the males have more color on their head and neck; you can also see his beard—a tuft of modified feathers—growing from the center of his chest. Generally speaking a tom's beard gets longer as the bird gets older, so this guy's been probably around for at least a year or two:





And a shot of all five birds as they started making their way back into the nearby woods: