merging of the broods

I often take a break on our front deck (where there are chairs and a table) before completing the last leg of my morning walk. As the hot sun was about to hit and I was getting ready to get up and move on, a large 'animal' emerged from the woods followed by a whole crowd of smaller ones. To my astonishment, it is a bevy (or, as some would have it, a rafter) of Wild Turkeys: two adult hens and a dozen or more half-grown young ones. Wild Turkeys are not a rarity on Eastern Long Island any longer but this was only the second time I've seen them down here (they mostly stick north of the highway) and the first ones were males in the fall. This was therefore the first time I've seen the hens here with a brood (probably two broods foraging together) in midsummer. The birds started across the open meadow in front of the house and then, seeing me, thought the better of it and turned toward toward the bushy marsh edge. With all the young birds following, they crossed the path to the pond and disappeared into the woods on the other side, later reappearing briefly in the woods just north of the porch where I am writing this.

Earlier in the morning, I went to check out the hummingbird nest and, possibly due to the chicks' fast growth, I could now see both of their heads visible above the rim of the nest. The female briefly appeared, chasing another hummingbird -- possibly the male --  and then disappearing as four young American Crows took over the area. Eventually, after several rounds of cawing and croaking, the crows took off and the hummer returned, landing on her familiar stick perch, an excellent spot for me to observe her and her to observe me. After a couple of circuits around my head -- at one point she hovered and landed briefly just over my head -- she went back to her favorite lookout and eventually decided it was safe to come in. Again she fed the two chicks alternately with her jabs -- not deadly but life-giving -- and then quickly took off. And so did I.

Wild Turkey update: the rafter of turkeys reappeared right outside our porch window and worked its way around the meadow to the woods where it first appeared. This was easier to count; there were three adult hens and at least 14 half-grown chicks. The merging of two or three Turkey broods is a well-known trait of this once rare species!

Eric Salzman