"My Life as a Turkey"

         Today I am watching another PBS documentary. This film tells the story of a man who becomes a mother to turkeys. In 1995, Joe Hutto, who lived in Florida was given a bowl of turkey eggs which he immediately put into an incubator. He planned on doing a science experiment and act as the parent to the young birds to gain insight into the life of a wild turkey. During the incubation process he followed exactly what a hen would do in the days leading up to the hatching. He would call to the young birds and immediately would hear a response from inside the eggs. When the poults finally hatched, Hutto called to them and one by one they came to him. Hutto says that when the birds first responded to him he knew this would not be a science experiment but something much more profound to him. It did not take long for him to realize after being with the birds the first few days that if he committed to this, it could very well be his life for the next several months.
         Hutto went inside to make a sandwich when the birds were about 10 days old and left them alone in a pen. When he came back he discovered a rat snake had swallowed one of the poults. Then and there he knew that he would not leave the birds again until they could fend for themselves. Only a few days later, Hutto took the birds into the woods to let them do whatever these birds do and he began to fall asleep as they walked around. He woke up suddenly to see a hawk land on one of the birds. When the hawk saw Hutto it flew away but left the poult dead on the ground. This shows just how imminent the threats to these birds are. Now Hutto had lost two birds and had 14 left.
         As Hutto wandered through the forest each day he realized that not only is he able to get close to the turkeys but somehow he can get close to the other wildlife as well when he is with the poults. During their first month of life Hutto was able to notice distinct characteristics between each of the individual birds. For example, two of them had a fascination with squirrels while another went nose to nose with a deer. The animals are born with a knowledge of who is friend and foe. He also discovered that the birds had a specific call for when they saw rattlesnakes. Almost everything that Hutto witnessed here was knowledge unknown by humans of these turkeys.
         At one point Hutto points out that even at two months of age, these birds' understanding of the forest was not only so far advanced than his, he could not even comprehend what these birds knew. It might be important to note that Hutto has been walking through these same forests for over 20 years. One day as they were all walking, they came across a stump that had been cut 20 or so years ago. The turkeys approached the stump with extreme caution but were fascinated by it. Even though it was very old, the birds still knew something was not right and they wanted to learn from it. It is extremely obvious these birds are so curious about everything. One way that Hutto shows just how intelligent these birds are is through their highly diverse vocabulary. He has discovered over thirty calls that have completely different meanings.
         At five months of age, two more of the birds died for unknown reasons. Hutto noticed a distinct difference in the turkey's behavior after this happened, which showed their affection for one another. On another day the turkeys were playing an actual game of tag with a fawn deer and squirrels. Hutto said that their was no doubt in his mind that these turkeys experience joy in their lives which I found especially surprising.
          All in all it was quite remarkable to have some insight on what is going on in our world that we really have no idea about.

Outdoor Podcast

         This past year while I was preparing to get out for my first bow hunt, I came across website called bowhunting.com. Throughout the year they film a couple dozen videos all about the entire process of bow hunting, mostly deer. During the spring the videos are about shed hunting along with some turkey hunting. The way that the website makes videos is they take clips from people all over and then discuss what they see going on. The reason I love watching these videos is because it gives me a whole different perspective when I can see what others are doing. There is always something that I can learn from watching these guys go into the woods while they are hunting or preparing for an upcoming season. Also, it is great just to be able to see others enjoying nature and see what their view of the woods is.

Recent Outings

             I was hoping to be able to get into the field a few more times but do to weather and other events I have not had much time. The one time I got out was to go for a morning turkey hunt. As I pulled into the field to park my car I saw a pair of headlights following close behind me on the gravel road. The truck pulled in right behind me and I went over to talk to the man. He was getting ready to go down into the same property as me but a few hundreds yards away. He told me that he had gotten out the day before and had bagged a jake and was looking for a second bird. I immediately noticed one advantage he had over me. An ATV. While I was trying to pick my way through the grass and mud and avoid fences I heard the rumble of his four wheeler. Once again there was an incredible amount of gobbling and other noises coming from the birds who were still on their roosts soon after I had set up in the blind. It did not take long for me to hear the distinct calls coming from where the man had parked his ATV. After the first hour of sunlight the real birds calmed down and the only response I got to my calls were his.
           I stayed in the blind for a couple hours, knowing that I had to get back to school before long. Around nine o'clock I heard the distinct sound of the man riding back towards his truck. Even though I did not see any turkeys or deer I enjoyed seeing and listening to the birds that assured me spring was here. I had a pair of sparrows searching through the grass a couple of feet from my blind for several minutes. A woodpecker landed on a cornstalk and started searching for insects. Cardinals, blue jays, robins, and bluebirds could be seen flying around without a care in the world. Early in the morning the owls gave out their some vicious calls that I only hear every once in a while, not your ordinary hoot. Geese constantly flew back between the river, ponds, fields, and a nearby lake. Even though the day was uneventful, it was nice to sit down and enjoy nature as always. I hope to be able to get into the field several times this week to do a little more hunting, the weather looks great.

Richard Proenneke

Recently I was introduced to the story of a man by the name of Richard Proenneke. In his early 50's he decided to head into the the middle of the Alaskan wilderness and build a sustainable life there. He wrote in his journal daily and took video of his lifestyle for 30 years. His tale has since been published as a book and a documentary has been made from his hours and hours of film. The cabin that he built still stands and can be visited. I found it fascinating that he could live such a fulfilling life with very little human contact and without what we would consider the necessities of life. The part that fits into this blog is the interaction he had with the wildlife that surrounded him. From bears and wolverines, to the sheep and moose, to the fish in the lake, he interacted with the animals daily. Unlike here and most other places in the states where people dominate the surrounding wildlife, Proenneke lived in unity with them. Over time the animals became accustomed to his presence and their seemed to be a mutual respect for each other. I would not be able to walk up to animals here without spooking them and having them run away. Here the animals not only understood that he was not a threat they would approach him for food. At times birds would fly up to him. I think a lesson can be learned here about how we live alongside wildlife. There must be someways that we can limit our impact on wildlife even through our daily actions.

Deer and Car Collisions

          As deer populations have continued to explode over the last century and roads have dominated every part of our country it is no surprise that every year thousands of accidents occur involving wildlife. According to the USDA 1-2 million accidents occur each year involving large animals, most of which are mule or whitetail deer. There are roughly 200 hundred humans who lose their lives in these accidents along with 2 billion dollars in property damage. So what can drivers do to help prevent these accidents? Think like a deer. As a driver it is important to note that deer do not see the same way that we do. When a pedestrian is trying to cross a street they are aware they must look both ways and if they see a car they  will automatically take in the cars speed and direction. Deer cannot do that. Deer's eyes are made to detect movement, not track movement like humans. Another thing to remember about deer's eyes is how they see light. The way that they gather light is much different than ours which is why they get the deer in the head lights look. Not only are they blinded by headlights but they are not able to detect they direction of the car. When driving on rural roads it is necessary to constantly be on the lookout for wildlife, often by the reflection of their eyes in the headlights. Also remember that deer usually travel in groups. In watching a video about this subject I realized that we, as drivers, have the responsibility to constantly think like the wildlife. If everyone does that our wildlife and friends and families can avoid damage to property or worse.

http://blogs.usda.gov/2014/12/10/think-like-a-deer-award-winning-video-aims-to-reduce-wildlife-vehicle-collisions/

http://internetbrothers.org/2014/12/27/think-like-a-deer-award-winning-video-aims-to-reduce-wildlife-vehicle-collisions/