Fauna Friday

This has been turkey week - we've seen a ton of them!  On the way to Townsend there's always a big gang of about 20 that we see in the fields next to the road, spotted them again on Wednesday.
On Sunday, we were finishing our hike along the Roaring Fork Road (which is closed to vehicle traffic for the winter) and as we neared Ely's Mill we crossed paths with a rafter of turkeys (that's the official term for a bunch of them, interesting choice) :

Just after I stopped the video, two turkeys were startled by us and took flight, landing high up on the hillside where the rest were headed.  It is amazing to see that happen, as big and galumphy as they appear, they are quieter and more graceful in flight than you might expect.
Also of note, Ely's Mill is getting their bee hives ready!! Hooray for mountain honey!  I'm sloooooowly using my one jar of wildflower honey I got from them last season, it tastes *exactly* like the cabins and forests along the Roaring Fork smell (to me).  Heavenly.

Fauna Friday

Today we have a couple more pics from Cades Cove, which really is a great place to observe wildlife:

And not-so-wild-life!

Turkey time

Sunday and today I've seen the same young wild turkey in our backyard, I think it's a hen. She's a beautiful bird and a lot of fun to watch.
I keep hoping she'll drop a feather out there for me but all I found after her visit today was a few muddy footprints and some poop.
She stops to munch on the birdseed I spread out every few days. This morning she hung around the yard a long time and had to share the buffet with a blue jay, a flock of starlings, 3 of my tribe of 5 crows, and a rabbit that she chased off. I heard her vocalizing in the woods later, I considered getting out my turkey caller but I don't want to confuse her or scare her away :-)

Here's a video, at the end she saw me standing in the window: