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Thanksgiving for the Turkeys

© N. Lou Lyons

Many traditions have changed since the pilgrims and their Indian neighbors shared the first Thanksgiving meal. Historians debate the official birth date of the harvest celebration, where it was held and exactly what food was served. One menu item draws agreement. Wild fowl was part of the feast.

Fowl are birds that belong to the order Galliformes. This order can be broken down further into the family Phasianidae. Family members include grouse, pheasants, quail and yes, turkey.

Today, turkey have become the bird of choice for our holiday dinner. Those birds that find their way to our plate are usually a farm raised species and not an Eastern wild turkey.

Wild turkey Meleagris gallapovo are a success story for which many people are thankful. Years ago, loss of suitable habitat and too much hunting by early European colonist caused North America's largest ground nesting birds to become almost extinct.

Government groups, conservationist, hunters and other concerned groups and individuals worked to bring back the wild turkey. Hunting season for turkey starts November 2nd in some areas this year and prospects for hunters look good.

In the year 1873, our state placed a closed season on hunting wild turkey. From 1915 through the '70's there was a bag limit of just one bird per season.

According to a 2001 article by John Roach for National Geographic News, by the 1930's wild turkey remained only in mountainous areas of Pennsylvania's Poconos, the swamps of Alabama and other such areas inaccessible to humans.

All of this may be lost to you without an understanding of the place turkey hold as part of our natural history. One way to appreciate our natural resources is to experience the spectacle of these wild birds in nature.

Turkey roam in flocks that can be as small as a few and as large as 40. If you see these big birds flying at up to 50 mph, don't be surprised. Turkey roost up in the trees during the night. During the day, look where there are stands of hardwoods and open areas for nesting. Turkey pick at the ground for vegetation and insects.

Males are called toms or gobblers, the females are hens. Young are poults that hatch in the spring from a ground nest of eight to 15 eggs.

One of the most famous sights of the turkey other than a golden brown roast on the dinner table is when the tom struts it's stuff. During the mating season in the spring he will display his feathers for courtship.