Larry A. Smail's Blog

  The trek took fifty minutes of continuous walking. I left the car at 4:30 A.M. to allow a set up behind the roosting site prior to gobbling time. This is the only option with certainty of not being viewed by wary eyes.        

At least three gobblers began their morning serenade as I adjusted my positioning to be above them. A few soft hen chirps and one was down from his roost and closer. Within minutes I witnessed the first gobbler…a jake! Two and three appeared and they were jakes too. The longest beard was about six inches in length. This gobbler was the only one to strut. They came about 15 to 18 yards or less of me. I elected not to shoot. That is  to not shoot the shotgun. However, I shot all three with the camera!

Photos are dark.

I allowed the birds to drift out of view. I laid the shotgun down and gathered up the camera prior to calling to them again. They responded and, shortly, the trio returned. I took over thirty photos in the very early dim light prior to sunrise. I had some issues of darkness, but the worse problem was keeping my viewfinder clear of steam. This show went on for about thirty minutes. Half of the photos were hazy.

Eventually, I decided to head south along Cherry Run and try my luck. I saw a feeding hen while exiting this area. Upon reaching the southern goal, I headed up the long steep grade until I reached a field high point. There was no turkey music to be heard. Later I walked along a ridge before spotting a hunter set up tight against a tree. I turned and slowly exited and went up and over to the other side of the hill. Here I found two turkey blinds set up. I didn’t notice if anybody were in them, but I knew it was time to start towards the car.   

The winds had  been picking up and I decided to call the day over and go home and work on some projects.

Goose family

I saw Canada geese with young goslings today. I saw some squirrels, a plover and a few deer including two with antler growth showing.  I saw my first sighting of a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird too.

What a view!