Alan's best friend is home from college on break, so they have been doing some hunting together. Today they hunted here and the friend got his first buck and a skipper (antler-less deer). We were really happy for him.
Wednesday they were hunting here and, although they didn't get a deer that day, they had an amazing experience. They were sitting in Alan's two-man tree stand watching a flock of turkeys when suddenly the birds alerted. Alan thought he spooked them and asked his friend what he had done to scare them. His friend didn't think he had moved at all. The turkeys hurried over to the T-field, which is adjacent to the cow pasture where the tree stand is. Both boys were watching them through their rifle scopes, just taking pleasure in observing them, when suddenly, from out of nowhere, came the real cause of the spooking incident.
Dunno what the attraction is with the dog house,
but the hens crowd into it all the time. There are four hens and a rooster in there at one point.
A bald eagle on locked wings hit the flock from behind, scattering them in every direction. The point of potential impact was out of sight behind a knoll, so they didn't actually see the eagle hit the turkeys. However, it didn't fly up while they were there, so it probably got one. Not what I would have expected to be its normal prey, but what an opportunity for the boys. Eagles are still not very common here...still an event to see one, let alone one hunting right here on the farm.
****Speaking of eagles, big birds and all, here is a really interesting story courtesy of my friend, Elaine Shein. Years ago, when the boss's mom was still with us, we saw the most staggering flight of geese imaginable. They went over the barn from east to west, a wide band of them that filled the sky overhead, maybe fifty geese wide, from horizon to horizon.
There were no distinct Vs or anything, just thousands and thousands and thousands of birds. Maybe a third snows and the rest Canadas. We heard them going over, over the noise of the milk pump, which was indoors then and very loud. We all went out and stood in the barnyard watching them pass in awe....I can't describe the sensation of seeing that many geese....it had to have taken ten minutes for them to pass. We have certainly never forgotten it. Wish I was out there today on the great flyway seeing all those birds out there.
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3 comments:
Wow! What a sight that must have been. I've only seen one in my life - he was sitting in a tree on the Homosassa River bank. I could have watched him all day.
They are actually pretty thick here.
And this time of year is great for seeing them since hunters like to leave their carcasses on the roadside.
The eagles like em while they are fresh.
I'd like to see geese like that.
SCMomma, it always amazes me how much is going on all the time out there on the land. Just watching out my kitchen and living room windows I see amazing sights almost every day.
FC, they are becoming much more common here, but it is still exciting to see one...the wife of a former (and favorite) feed company rep hacked many of the birds in the state during the reintroduction. They were always eager for sighting reports on them. The goose thing was staggering. What it must have been like when the continent was less populous. We still see thousands every fall, but not all at once. Hoping the water will stay open until New Years so we can get some on the Christmas bird count.
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