what's with all the turkeys?

General discussions on hiking in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest
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Chip Down
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what's with all the turkeys?

Post by Chip Down » May 4th, 2021, 6:18 pm

I've seen more turkeys in the last month that in the previous 50 years.
Why?
It's like ticks in the summer of 2016.
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careless camper or careless hen?

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lordgares
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Re: what's with all the turkeys?

Post by lordgares » May 5th, 2021, 6:02 am

It's been like that towards the East end of the Gorge for several years now. My wife and I have a running joke that it isn't a drive/hike unless we see turkeys going to or coming from wherever we are. There was one time we were driving out Ketchum Rd, which eventually turns into road 1711 where we came across a whole flock of them that insisted in running in front of us in the road for several miles.
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drm
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Re: what's with all the turkeys?

Post by drm » May 5th, 2021, 6:48 am

Folks realize that a modern turkey is the evolutionary result of what was once a velociraptor, right? Velociraptor dinosaurs evolved into turkeys. Be wary, they remember.

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Charley
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Re: what's with all the turkeys?

Post by Charley » May 5th, 2021, 5:24 pm

Twice now I have seen turkeys up the Wind River. They looked big and healthy!

Are they native here? Did someone just let loose a flock for hunting purposes?
Believe it or not, I barely ever ride a mountain bike.

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lordgares
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Re: what's with all the turkeys?

Post by lordgares » May 5th, 2021, 6:49 pm

Interestingly they aren't native to Oregon or Washington. From what I understand, they were introduced in 1961 in Oregon and in the early 1900s in Washington.
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
― Terry Pratchett, Jingo

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teachpdx
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Re: what's with all the turkeys?

Post by teachpdx » May 10th, 2021, 6:58 am

I saw a bunch of turkeys in late April just outside of Trout Lake, near Atkisson Sno-Park. Maybe I'll luck out eventually and see them on a trail, and not on the drive to the trail.
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dmthomas49
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Re: what's with all the turkeys?

Post by dmthomas49 » May 10th, 2021, 9:28 am

Last October on Wind River Highway. Didn't want to move off the highway. We could have had lots of turkey for Thanksgiving!
Turkeys.JPG
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Don Nelsen
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Re: what's with all the turkeys?

Post by Don Nelsen » May 12th, 2021, 12:47 pm

I was surprised by a big flock of them on the Cook-Underwood road near Mill A a couple of years ago. A similar scene to what dmthomas49 found on the Wind River Highway.

Also, I saw a large flock on the Collins Point Slide between Wind and Dog Mts.
They were near the abandoned powerline corridor:
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P1010286.JPG
dn
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