eBirdseed.com Wild Bird Feeding Blog: Turkey Attack! Flicker, and Mahalia Jackson

Hi all,

First things first... I ain't a bad guy. I'm not perfect, but I'm not a brute or a politician or anything nasty like that. I'll take a lot and won't react, but there are two things I will not tolerate... Physical attacks on my family, and attacks on me and mine on my property. Anyway... Take a look at the fellow below:

I'd tried to give this gobbler and his buddies time enough to eat and move on. Indeed, I thought they were gone when I went out to re-fill the crow tray with frozen sausage. Surprise! Two of the Toms charged me from out of the woods. I guess it was a territorial thing. Regardless, it was a huge mistake on the birds' part. (When I was a kid, we raised chickens, and I was attacked by a rooster. My damages were minimal, but my mother got slashed in the legs trying to protect me. Needless to say, when my father saw the wounds, we ate chicken for several nights after the event.) Anywho... I had the frozen sausages and they didn't and a firm underhand toss from three feet resulted with a thump on a birdie chest and a re-think of the entire battle plan. "Retreat!" said turkeys, "Damn the sausages... Full speed reverse!" In a way, it was almost comical... Nobody got hurt, and hopefully, the birds earned a bit more respect for bipeds. But imagine if a child was out playing... This ain't no game.

Onward...

Once the turkeys decided that there were other "less-confrontational" yards and moved on, the regulars returned. I wish I had a better photo of the image below...