Richard Moore Outdoor Report: Turkey Talk

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Twilight turkey talk echoes through oak mottes and mesquite thickets of southernmost Texas as gobbling commences before the sun rises.

From their lofty roost in towering oaks, some gobblers begin unfurling their impressive tail feathers before alighting and joining the flock.

The morning march flows down grassy sendero with hens in the vanguard and gobblers strutting along behind with tail feathers spread wide.

As foraging flock spreads out across meadows, turkeys communicate with subtle chirps and clucks, and hens do most of the talking.

Toms, however, are ostentatious with their displays and loud gobbling, as they are garnering the attention of a willing hen is their primary motivation.

While mature gobblers are usually able to establish hierarchy with strutting and bold posturing, fights do erupt, particularly among young males or jakes. This pair is locked in a beak-to-beak struggle that eventually ends with no serious injury, only perhaps wounded pride.

This time of year, during breeding season, emotions run high, and a pair of amped up gobblers takes on a young buck in a display of dominance, with the deer soon fleeing.

Finally, all that strutting, gobbling, and fighting pays off as hens accept their mates.

Recent rains have the ranch country greening rapidly, and that is good news for turkeys, as hens will soon begin nesting.

Hens lay their eggs on the ground, and a cover is essential for hiding the nest from predators.

When poults are born, they require plenty of protein to grow, and an abundance of insects will enable them to mature.

Poults are extremely vulnerable during their first few weeks, and even though a hen may lay a dozen or more eggs, she will be lucky to raise one or two.

And who knows, maybe one of these little rascals will grow up to take on a big buck.