I’m on the road a lot. Whether it’s off to Cooperstown for a meeting, a ski trip to Belleayre Mountain or just to the grocery store, I put a lot of miles on my car. Along those roads I get a chance to view nature and it’s many inhabitants.
On County Route 11 between Laurens and West Oneonta I’ve been watching a huge flock of turkeys all winter. There has to be well over a hundred birds in the flock. They’re often on both sides of the road.
I watch them and often wonder how they’re surviving in this cold weather. After all, we’re having what I consider a good, old-fashioned winter like it was when I grew up. The fields were harvested months ago, so there doesn’t seem to be much to eat, but they are a very resilient animal.
There are many ways that turkeys survive the deep snow and freezing temperatures. One is physiological changes.
During the fall when food is plentiful, turkeys put on a significant amount of weight by storing up fat. They fluff up their feathers when it’s cold, which helps keep them warm.
Now we all know that turkeys lack feathers on their heads, so they tuck them under their wings or in their back feathers to retain heat. They also move around less in order to reduce calorie loss.
Turkeys also make behavioral changes. They roost in trees to conserve heat, preferring conifers like pines, spruce and hemlocks. Since these evergreens don’t lose their needles, their branches help block the wind.
During the colder months they spend more time on their roosts. They may leave the trees to feed in the morning but return to the tree limbs more often.
They’ll also roost on the southern side of a hill where there’s more sunlight and heat which is absorbed by their dark colored feathers. Turkeys conserve energy in the winter by being less active.
So what do they eat? Certainly farm crops have been harvested, but there might still be some remnants along the edges of the fields. But let’s face it: turkeys can eat just about anything from insects to worms, snails, seeds, fruit and nuts. They especially like acorns. They also will feed on the freshly spread manure from local farms.
Along Route 28 south of Delhi a farmer spreads the cattle’s waste on the river flat most every morning. You can set your watch by the arrival of the turkeys. But you know what they say: “You are what you eat.” No matter where I drive, if a farm is active, the turkeys will be there. It’s an easy meal for them.
For years the turkeys gathered on a farmer’s flat along Elk Creek a few miles north of Schenevus. They came there from miles around. The state used to set up cannons to shoot up nets and catch quite a few birds to stock elsewhere. They don’t do that anymore. Turkeys have spread out naturally over the entire state including the Adirondacks and Long Island.
Don’t worry about wild turkeys in the winter. Unless we get snow cover deeper than a foot and lasting more than two weeks, they’ll be just fine. They’re survivors.