Gobbler Season in Michigan

Managing wild turkeys in Michigan involves the complex interactions of turkey populations, their habitat and people. The goal of the spring wild turkey hunting season is to continue expansion of the wild turkey population in Michigan. Nevertheless, My shots will be with a Nikon.

This guy is a gobbler, or Tom. They have a large, featherless, head and red wattles on the throat. The fleshy growths on his head are called caruncles. The long fleshy object over the beak is called a snood. Each foot has a spur behind the leg. Two years ago, my dog Max discovered this.

Despite their weight, wild turkeys are agile fliers. They fly beneath the canopy top and find high treetop perches. Turkeys have many vocalizations to announce their presence to females and competing males: "gobbles," "clucks," "putts," "purrs," "yelps," "cutts," "whines," "cackles," and "kee-kees." Males strut for females by puffing out their feathers, spreading out their tails and dragging their wings.