I noticed this cool post at the Dzonoqua’s Whistle blog from last weekend. It starts with a rather tragic description of an abandoned duck’s nest, the moves on to an interesting passage about a wild turkey hen and her chicks.

The other day as I was walking, I met a wild turkey family. They were crossing the two track into the grasses and irises above. The chicks were only a few days old, with mottled brown fluffy down with a yellow belly. The hen had quite a time keeping everyone together, getting them across the road and back out of hawk sight(I’d just seen a hawk cry and fly off here a few minutes ago). The chicks were still a little bumbly on their new legs, but weren’t shy about plunging blindly into the deep grass. The hen kept up a constant gluck and coo with each chick, who responded with a peep. I’ve listened to this communication with my own chickens, and marveled at how much they spoke back and forth, even when the chicks were still in the egg. Obviously listening and knowing mom’s voice is an important survival tactic! The hen wanted to rest under the shade of a small fir’s low slung boughs, and tried to gather everyone. But typical of young things anywhere, a few stragglers lollygaggled in the road, having fun running willy-nilly in the wide open. So she herded them back into the safe grass and moved further into the small trees.

This blog is a gem; add it to your RSS feed if you haven’t already.