The Tail of Five Turkeys

Toronto Wildlife Centre is a great organization that rescues, rehabilitates and releases injured and orphaned wildlife and I've had the pleasure of volunteering with them for a few years.

Earlier this summer TWC received five tiny orphaned wild turkeys and today was release day!  The trick was to find a wild flock with a Mom (or Moms) and their little ones so that we could add our five to their family.

One of the five youngsters that TWC raised

I left early this morning in search of a flock and after a half hour or so I saw this beautiful sight!   After an unsuccesful (multi-houred!) search for a flock yesterday, the turkey Gods must have been smiling down on us today!  

This group was on a quiet backroad, and included at least two adult hens and numerous young (not all pictured here).  Exactly the type of flock we'd been hoping for!

Even better, there was a second flock on the other side of the field, where several Toms (adult males) were feeding with a few younger males.  After an excited call to TWC to share the news, Andrew, a member of the rescue/release staff, quickly arrived with the five babies.  The Moms had disappeared into the adjacent forest on the left, and the Toms had moved toward the treeline on the far right.  

We released the five little ones in the field right in the middle of where we'd seen the two flocks and it was interesting to see that the moment the young turkeys left their kennel cab, they immediately began to peck on the ground for food.  Despite not growing up with adults to show them the ropes, they sure looked like wild turkeys from the moment they were released.  They didn't appear the least bit nervous, and looked like they'd been in that field their entire lives.

Exploring their new home.

At one point neither flock was visible and this gave our little ones plenty of time to explore their new territory.  It was great to watch them slowly expand their territory from left to right.

At one point one of the turkeys started kicking madly at the dirt in the field.  He was then joined by a second turkey.  They then crouched down and began dusting, which turkeys typically do mid to late morning (they were right on schedule!) and it was quite a sight.  This is how turkeys keep their feathers clean.

Dusting fun!

Dusting break

Dusting leftovers

In the distance we suddenly saw the Tom flock returning - they had seen the five little ones!  The Toms weren't at all aggressive, but conveyed in Turkey language that they were in charge.

Toms on the right, our five on the left.

Our five little guys retreated into their own territory but were quite curious and likely wanted the comfort of a flock.  The interesting thing was that two of the Toms (right) appeared to be waiting for them, and the five little ones returned immediately to check things out.



A peaceful encounter with the male flock - Toms on the right and our five on the left.

Although we had hoped that by now Mom and the nursery flock would have come out of the forest, we were still happy to have found a flock at all - and there were a few young in this Tom flock as well.  What we didn't know though was that the Moms had walked their little ones all the way around the forest, into the other side of the field!  We were so happy to see them!

The nursery flock returns...now there are three flocks in the field!

Eventually all three flocks disappeared into the high grass for a mid-day break.

I will continue to monitor the progress of the turkeys we released, and am sure that in the very near future they will have nicely integrated.

When we left, ours were showing no signs of having been raised without a mom - they were strutting, pecking, and overall acting very turkeyish! 

As always, TWC provides the most amazing and memorable experiences!  Click here to see how you can support Toronto Wildlife Centre.