I got a call from my mother yesterday at about 5:00 PM. She was out feeding her turkeys when 6 "other" turkeys showed up.
 
She described them, and said that they didn't look like any turkeys she'd ever seen before. She said they were "thinner" than her's, and looked tall, even though they were smaller birds. Speckled wings, shiney bronze feathers in places, and so forth...
 
Hmm...sounds like a Goulds turkey, methinks?
 
so I called a game-warden friend of mine, and asked him about it. Evidently the Az G&F Dept released some Goulds turkeys about 30 miles north of here on the Babocamori River, and also in the Huachuca Mtns. Since then, they've showed up in some strange places. The main street of Sierra Vista, in Tombstone, and so forth. None so far south yet though.
 
So I took a drive, took some pictuires, and "text'd" one to Brad. Sure 'nuff, they're Goulds.
 
Those familiar with Turkeys are familiar with the Eastern, the Oceola, the Rio Grande, and the Merriams. A lot of turkey hunters who want a true "grand slam" of turkeys travel to Mexico for these, since they no longer existed here in the US in huntable numbers (or at all, perhaps). They were once native to this area. They still aren't legally hunted here, but perhaps one day there'll be enough of them, and wild enough to allow hunting them again.
 
Anyway, for those interested, here's a few pictures. They aren't very wild, but seem to be surviving ok thus far. They don't mind traveling a bit, evidently.

Two fingers or three?

Sorry, couldn't resist!

I hate it when a thread deteriorates with the first reply.
 
Maybe I should have reconsidered before starting it?
 
Daryl

QuoteTwo fingers or three?

I don't get it? God bless

Quote from: Daryl;104863I hate it when a thread deteriorates with the first reply.
 
Maybe I should have reconsidered before starting it?
 
Daryl

No Daryl, that's just the way my sense of humor works sometimes.

And David,...
Wild Turkey is also a bourbon.  "Two or three fingers" is a measurement of the amount one might pour into a glass.

Jamie,
 
Let me apologize.  Sarcasm doesn't show well in a post, and my humor's a little on the dry side lately.  To many irons in the fire, and too many people trying to hit me with 'em lately.
 
:)
 
Daryl

I know the feeling Daryl, trust me I do.
No offense taken, and certainly none intended.  

Beautiful birds btw.  I hope they get to huntable numbers for you someday!

Daryl, did your gamewarden friend make any indication as to how long ago these
birds were released?..........just curious as to how long it took them to travel such
a distance...and they are definately tame....too tame....& did you note any ID
bands on there legs?.................................................................................BH51.....

Looks these have decided to join your moms farm.
 
Interesting, had never heard of them before but I an certainly no expert on Turkeys

BH51,
 
He didn't really say when they were released on the Babo. They've been in the Huachuca Mtns for several years, and I believe they've released them in various areas.
 
The only time frame in the conversation was that he said they'd shown up in Tombstone "last year". I "assumed" something like a year ago, perhaps. No telling.
 
One of my wife's friends lives on the Babocamori River, and she said something about having "wild turkeys" in her yard recently. Seems to be a few around.
 
The Babocamori runs into the San Pedro River maybe 15 miles NW of Tombstone, and my mom lives about 20 miles south of where the two rivers merge. My understanding is that the birds were released somewhere upstream on the Babo from there, which would be to the west.
 
Alboy,
 
That's sorta what I'm thinking, and I'm not quite sure what to do about such things. They're a re-introduced species, and I'm quite sure the G&F Dept won't want them to be cross-bred to domestic breeds like the Bourbon Reds or Midget Whites that my mom has. Her's are penned right now, so I suggested leaving them that way for a few days and see if the others will move on.
 
They roosted on top of mom's pens last night, and hung around a bit today. She said she didn't see them this evening, so maybe they moved on.
 
They'll follow a person around the yard like lost puppies though, so it might take a bit to actually get around to having truly "wild" birds from them.
 
Hunting them wouldn't seem quite right if they'll follow you back to camp. :D

yep wild turkey 101, I have only seen pics of the them ,they look alot like merriam's.
it would be nice if they let some out here........Ron

Texas Fish and Game, the name in the '50s and '60s, tried releasing pen raised bob whites in N E Texas, about 3 months of having quail in the chicken pens and roosting on the porch ended providing the dogs and cats with a bunch of juicy snacks but no more nesting quail.
Turkeys and quail just do not un domesticate [if that is a real word] real easily, sorta like some grown kids about leaving home.

Quote from: drinksgin;104944Texas Fish and Game, the name in the '50s and '60s, tried releasing pen raised bob whites in N E Texas, about 3 months of having quail in the chicken pens and roosting on the porch ended providing the dogs and cats with a bunch of juicy snacks but no more nesting quail.
Turkeys and quail just do not un domesticate [if that is a real word] real easily, sorta like some grown kids about leaving home.

 
OUCH!!!

I resemble that last statement:frown

Seems to be true enough about them "undomesticating".
 
They do travel a quarter mile or so down on the river to roost in the cottonwoods each night, but they're back for breakfast every morning.
 
Oh well, mom doesn't mind them stealing a little food, and I'd bet they'll move on when the grasshoppers appear.  No need for them to travel very far surrounded by fields full of grasshoppers along the river.

Wild turkeys taste better than pen raised domestic turkeys.   ......Paul H