Page 10 - PGA Community News - December '22

Page 10, PGA C.A.N.! December 2022 December 2022
Northern Notes

Let’s Talk Turkey the Osceola or Florida wild turkey (M.g. osceola). The
Florida wild turkey is best distinguished from the eastern
By Katie Roundtree, subspecies, which it closely resembles, by the white
Director of Finance and barring on its wing feathers. On Florida wild turkeys,
Administration, Northern the white bars on the primary wing feathers are narrower
Palm Beach County than the black bars. They are irregular or broken, giving
Improvement District the wing an overall darker appearance than eastern wild
With the holiday season turkeys.
in full swing, our thoughts An adult male wild turkey is thick-bodied and larger
turn to entertaining and, than a female. The skin on its featherless head is pinkish-
inevitably, turkey, a staple at red with red caruncles (wattles) on its throat and neck. It
many family dinner tables. has a dark beard on its breast and dark brown or bronze
These tasty birds are also iridescent feathers. Males, called “gobblers,” have
native to our area and quite elaborate tail feathers used during mating. They also have
common if you are lucky enough to spot them. However, spurs on their strong feet, beards, and “snoods” that hang or aggressive to get more food. Not only can human-fed
south Florida turkeys aren’t like the plastic-wrapped birds over their beaks. turkeys become aggressive toward the hands that feed
we find in our local markets. They are a bit less plump and The female, or “hen,” is slimmer and duller looking them, but they may also scratch and peck cars, leave
round, weighing about 17 pounds. than the male, with a blue-gray head and neck that lacks droppings in undesired areas, and tear up landscaping.
Wild turkeys are social animals and typically flock the prominent red caruncles of males. Females usually do One last fact about turkeys, the story about Benjamin
together in groups numbering just a few birds to as many not have a beard, but if one is present, it is thinner and Franklin wanting the National Bird to be a turkey is just a
as 20 or more. Wild turkeys roost at night in trees within smaller than the males. myth. This false story began due to a letter Franklin wrote
thicker forest stands for safety from ground predators. They An adolescent male is called a “jake,” and an adolescent to his daughter. In the letter, Franklin wrote, “For my
are extremely wary and will run away or fly to a tree to female is called a “jenny.” A baby turkey of either gender own part I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the
escape danger. Turkeys have excellent eyesight, including is called a “poult.” Wild turkey hens in Florida typically representative of our country.” He felt that the “Bald Eagle
the ability to see color. begin nesting in late March or early April. The female ... is a bird of bad moral character. He does not get his
They are powerful fliers, especially for short distances, builds a shallow nest on the ground where she lays an living honestly … [he] is too lazy to fish for himself.” (Bald
and can fly up to 55 miles per hour! However, to conserve average of 9 to 11 eggs. It takes approximately 12 to 13 eagles sometimes steal the fish from other birds rather than
energy, wild turkeys primarily walk. They spend most of days to lay the entire clutch of eggs and another 25 to 26 fish for themselves.) Franklin wrote that in comparison
their time on the ground, where they search for acorns, days of continuous incubation for them to hatch. Newly to the bald eagle, the turkey is “a much more respectable
seeds, fruits, insects, leaves, and small vertebrates. They hatched wild turkeys, called poults, are highly mobile bird, and withal a true original native of America ... he is
can easily cover several hundred acres in a day. and can feed themselves soon after hatching. Poults are besides, though a little vain and silly, a bird of courage.”
Before Europeans came to North America, the wild flightless until they are about two weeks old. After two So, although Benjamin Franklin defended the honor of
turkey population was abundant. They declined in weeks, the chicks can fly up to trees to roost to escape the turkey against the bald eagle, he did not propose it
number from hunting and habitat takeover by humans predators, including coyotes, raccoons, owls, snakes, becoming one of America’s most important symbols.
after Europeans arrived, but in 1860 there were still more bobcats, eagles, foxes and hawks. NPDES tip: Please pick up after your pet. When pet
turkeys in Florida than people. During the early 1900s, Turkeys are large animals (males can stand 3½ feet waste is washed into lakes or canals the waste decays,
there was a considerable decline in the turkey population tall) with powerful wings and sharp spurs on their legs. If using up oxygen and sometimes releasing ammonia.
throughout Florida. By 1975, the Florida Fish and Wildlife wild turkeys visit your yard, it is essential to allow them to Low oxygen levels and ammonia combined with warm
Conservation Commission (FWC) managed wild turkeys. stay wild by not feeding them. Wild turkeys need to move temperatures can kill fish. Pet waste also contains nutrients
Now, turkeys can be found in all of Florida’s counties and in about large tracts of land looking for food and providing that encourage weed and algae growth. Overly fertile
every state in the United States except Alaska and Hawaii. them with food encourages them to stay in one place. water becomes cloudy and green – unattractive for boating
Florida is home to two subspecies of wild turkey – the Additionally, feeding any wild animal can cause it to lose and fishing. Perhaps most importantly, pet waste carries
eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) and its natural fear of people and lead to them becoming pushy diseases which make water unsafe.

Southern Profile on page 2

1/15/23.