Fowl invasion
We’ve been amused by peacocks in other people’s neighbourhoods around Gabriola, because — ha ha! — it’s funny and the birds are interesting. I’ve even blogged about Morri H. Mostow’s Gabriola peacocks. We’ve been equally amused at other kinds of free-range fowl who seem to wander anywhere they please on other parts of the island.
Meanwhile, we live in an apparently fowl-free neighbourhood. We have a fenced yard. The only birds on our property are the native ones, like ravens and woodpeckers. No fowl, thank God.
It’s not that I dislike fowl, you understand: I’d keep chickens if we didn’t already have a dog. Thing is, our dog would eat chickens, or any other bird, so it wouldn’t be a happy mix. Fenced yard, no fowl – all good for us so far.
Until this morning. Wandering around in our fenced yard we have, um, this bird. This doesn’t-belong-here bird. This shouldn’t-be-here bird. This bird who could easily be dog’s dinner. (It’s a peahen, right?)
This bird can obviously fly into our yard, yet does not fly when running away from a terrifying human. No, the bird runs, silly thing. This will delight the dog, but will not end well for the bird.
How do we get the bird to go away and stay away?
Filed in birds,Gabriola Island 8 Comments so far
8 Responses to “Fowl invasion”
islandblog on 09 Feb 2010 at 4:49 pm #
Your visitor looks more turkey than peahen. Could it be one of the flock I’ve seen roaming North Road by the S-bend?
Suggest you pursue the bird with a roasting dish and carving knife. Should encourage a speedy decision one way or the other!
Andrea on 09 Feb 2010 at 5:23 pm #
No, that, my friend, is a turkey. A girl turkey. I have a boy turkey out in my barn who could be her big brother. The males grow a big tuft of feathers hanging down from the middle of the chest – the longer the tuft, the older the bird.
This one is either a wild turkey or could be a feral descendant of the heritage Black Spanish variety which is a very old breed quite similar to the wild turkeys.
I don’t know why this one is all alone – they usually travel in a pack. (OK, a flock) She would be very capable of flying well up into the trees if threatened. My insane turkeys, when they were younger and lighter, often roosted on the hydro lines. (I was always worried they would knock out the power of our two neighbours further up the line and possibly get fried in the process). These babies can also possibly outrun your dog. A friend in Ontario once clocked one at 30 mph running alongside his car along a road.
Turkeys tend to be quite mild mannered as a rule, but the wings are dangerous. They can give you quite a whack and I’ve heard of broken bones in a few cases. So hopefully your dog will give this one lots of space.
I don’t know what you can do to encourage her to go away. Is there perhaps grain on the ground from feeding (smaller) birds that is attracting her to the area?
Gabriolan on 09 Feb 2010 at 6:45 pm #
Thank you islandblog and Andrea. I know next to nothing about birds and am pleased to have your help. (Have updated post tags now that I know it’s a turkey we’ve got.)
I have never seen birds like this in our neighbourhood, so I can’t imagine why this loner would choose to wander far afield to get to our yard. Puzzling. Maybe somebody dropped her off at our place as a practical joke.
We don’t feed birds, so at least there isn’t any birdseed around.
The Executive Chef went outside, opened the gate, and managed to chase the turkey out. If she stays out, I shall be very pleased.
islandblog on 10 Feb 2010 at 3:07 am #
I assume that’s the turkey you want to stay out, not the Executive Chef!
A little research suggests that the correct collective for turkeys is either a “rafter” or a “raffle” – though “flock” is considered an acceptable alternative. I’m learning something every day!
islandblog on 10 Feb 2010 at 3:11 am #
… and no, it’s not the excitement of a turkey invasion that’s caused me to comment at 3.07am – it’s just that I’m back in the UK for a couple of months!
Andrea on 10 Feb 2010 at 11:09 am #
Islandblog, you have clearly raised the bar on word usage! I tend to think of a group of wild or heritage turkeys as a pack or mob, but that just reflects my personal experience of the quirky and very independent mentality of the heritage turkeys I have known. In personality and hyperactivity levels, they are nothing at all like the docile white commercial blob turkeys (the white turkeys are sort of endearingly sweet but not nearly as interesting). Certainly, I can see why you’d call a group of heritage turkeys a “rafter” – after all, that’s one of their favourite places to hold meetings. I have no idea where “raffle” comes from.
And clearly I missed my opportunity to post comments at a truly weird time! I was up every 2 hours last night checking on a goat (who eventually gave birth to twins at 8 AM – everyone doing well).
Michael Mehta on 10 Feb 2010 at 1:29 pm #
You could send her my way. Kathy and I are strict vegetarians – and only consume tofu turkey!
Gabriolan on 10 Feb 2010 at 1:39 pm #
Michael — if the turkey comes back, shall I bundle her into the car and drive her over to your place? I’m sure she has plenty of personality; she might even like to have some of your tofu turkey!