The tale of the trotting wild turkey

Al Batt, Nature's World

Published Saturday, October 24, 2009

My neighbor Crandall stops by.

“How are you doing?” I ask.

“Everything is nearly copacetic. I’m as busy as a vacuum cleaner at a lint convention. One of the grandkids spent the week with me. He lost a tooth and put it under his pillow. He expected to find money under the pillow the next morning. Kids!”

“Doesn’t your conscience ever get tired of talking to itself? You didn’t stiff your own grandson, did you?” I say.

“It wasn’t me. It was the Tooth Fairy. The Tooth Fairy didn’t leave the boy a dime. I put a needle and thread under his pillow.”

“Why did you do that?” I ask.

“That way my grandson will learn that wishing won’t make it sew. I should have given him a book to read, but he doesn’t have the attention span to — hey, is that a new toaster? Now what was I saying?”

“You were saying that memory is a fragile thing,” I offer.

“As one end of your belt said to the other, ‘I don’t get the connection.’ Sweet music and sauerkraut! You know I like my pancakes to cast a tall shadow, so I stopped at the Ptomaine Palace yesterday. The steak was a little tough. They forgot to remove the saddle.”

“What brought that up?” I asked.

“It just dawned on me that you are as sharp as mashed potatoes. I’m going somewhere else and do nothing. See you.”

Trotting turkey

Danny Tuttle of Twin Lakes watched a wild turkey in his backyard. It was feeding upon some sliced apples that Danny had placed on the ground. Danny watched as the turkey stopped eating and ran to the other end of the yard. Then it ran back to the apples. It repeated these actions a number of times. Danny was curious as to why the turkey was spending so much time and effort in this back and forth movement. When the turkey left the scene, Danny went outside to investigate. He discovered that his neighbor was mowing the lawn. The turkey retreated when the lawn mower approached and advanced when the mower withdrew.

Hawk Ridge

While working in Duluth, I took the opportunity to visit with Debbie Waters, the education director at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve. That’s always a good idea. One of nature’s remarkable spectacles occurs each fall at Hawk Ridge. Migrating raptors coming from as far north as the Arctic and headed as far south as South America converge in impressive numbers at the western tip of Lake Superior. Raptors are reluctant to cross large bodies of water and when they encounter Lake Superior, they veer southwest along the lakeshore. Many birds move past Hawk Ridge on days with northwest winds. Winds with a westerly component generally produce large numbers of migrating hawks. Hawk Ridge averages over 94,000 migrating raptors each fall. The record number counted in one day is 102,321 on Sept. 15, 2003. The record for a fall season is 205,087 in 2003. Some statistics of common raptors follow.

Turkey vulture peak migration: Sept. 15 to Oct. 5. Record daily high: 799 on Sept. 29, 1996. Record seasonal high: 2,243 in 2003.

Broad-winged hawk peak: Sept. 10 to Sept. 25. Daily record: 101,716 on Sept. 15, 2003. Seasonal record: 160,776 in 2003.

Osprey peak: Sept. 1 to Sept. 20. Daily record: 90 on Sept. 17, 1997 . Seasonal record: 575 in 1998.

Red-tailed hawk peak: Oct. 1 to Nov. 5. Daily record: 3,991 on Oct. 24, 1994. Seasonal record: 15,448 in 1994.

Bald eagle peak: Oct. 15 to Nov. 15. Daily record: 743 on Nov 22, 1994. Seasonal record: 4,368 in 1994.

Rough-legged hawk peak: Oct. 15 to Nov. 10.  Daily record: 204 on Nov 10, 1963. Seasonal record: 1,011 in 1994.

Northern harrier peak: Sept. 5 to Oct. 1. Daily record: 216 on Sept. 17, 1994. Seasonal record: 1,390 in 1994.

Golden eagle peak: Oct 20 to Nov. 10. Daily record: 29 on Oct. 26, 2001. Seasonal record: 190 in 2001.

Sharp-shinned hawk peak: Sept. 1 to Oct. 20. Daily record: 2,040 on Oct 8, 2003. Seasonal record: 22,344 in 1997.

American kestrel peak: Sept. 5 to Oct. 5. Daily record: 744 on Sept. 9, 2002. Seasonal record: 3,769 in 2002.

Merlin peak: Sep 5—Oct 10 Daily record: 73 on Oct 9, 1998 Seasonal record: 460 in 1997.

Northern goshawk peak: Oct. 10 to Nov. 15. Daily record: 1,229 on Oct. 15, 1982. Seasonal record: 5,819 in 1982.

Cooper’s hawk peak: Sept. 10 to Oct 10. Daily record: 45 on Sept. 14, 2000. Seasonal record: 356 in 1993.

Peregrine falcon peak migration: Sept. 15 to Sept. 30. Record daily high: 21 on Sept. 29, 1997. Record seasonal high: 111 in 1999.

To see a twisting tornado of hawks is worth a visit to Hawk Ridge.

Q and A

“Where did the crow get its name?” Likely from its call.

“Is there a name for a flock of mallards in flight?” A sord.

“Do we have termites in Minnesota?” Yes, but they are uncommon.

“Have you heard about geese developing from barnacles?” Barnacles are marine crustaceans that form hard shells and become attached to submerged surfaces such as rocks and bottoms of ships. The myth was that barnacle geese developed from goose barnacles. The two were similar in color and shape, and they appeared at different seasons. Because it was believed to be produced from barnacles, the goose was classified as fish and therefore its flesh could be eaten during Lent. It was widely thought that certain animals were engendered spontaneously from particular substances. Maggots were believed to generate from rotting meat.

“Is the rock pigeon a native to the United States?” No, it was introduced from Europe in the early 1600s.

“How did the cormorant get its name?” It is believed to have been a corruption of corvus marina (sea raven). Its genus name means “bald raven.”

“Do dragonflies migrate?” Most dragonflies spend the winter underwater in an immature stage, but about a dozen species do migrate. Dragonflies eat mosquitoes and have many nicknames, including horse stingers, devil’s darning needles, devil’s little horses, snake doctors, and mosquito hawks.  

Thanks for stopping by

“Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it’s at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.” — Earl Nightingale

“A single rose can be my garden — a single friend, my world.” — Leo Buscaglia

DO GOOD.

  Al Batt of Hartland is a member of the Albert Lea Audubon Society. E-mail him at SnoEowl@aol.com.

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