No, I did not get a turkey today, but I did have a great hunt. I started this morning off shortly after 5:00 AM sitting under a tree. Then at about 5:30 AM I heard something plop to the ground five yards away from me. At first I did not think much of the sound since it sounded like a bird making droppings then I realized it made an awful big sound for a just song bird. So, I look up into the tree to convince myself nothing was up there. Sure enough there was nothing…wait a turkey sitting about 15 yards up! At first I could not believe I had randomly picked the same tree a turkey was roosted in. Whether the turkey had a beard or not I could not tell because of some leaves, but as it woke up it turned around on the branch revealing a chest devoid of a beard. I watched that hen for almost 1/2 hour before at around 6:00 AM it decided to fly down. Being my first up close experience with a turkey fly down I had a front row seat. Before fly down it never make any clucks or yelps instead it simply took a careful 360 degree survey of the surroundings twice. Once it jumped off the tree branch and begin flying it never flapped its wings making for a noiseless flight. Landing was also made quietly; way less noise than a squirrel might make jumping in some leaves. Where the turkey landed it was out of sight and I never saw it again nor did it make any more noise. Then I left to go home for breakfast at around 8:00 AM.

Later in the morning I returned to the general area with one of my younger brother’s. As we made our way to where we sat a deer moved out of the brush about 50 yards away. It was a buck with tines about as high as the ears and had a wide look to them instead of the straight up look full grown spikes have. The deer also had a radio collar on it, which is a first as far as I know in my area. It will be interesting this fall to see how this deer’s rack will grow. Identifying it should be easy since I would image it to the only deer in this area with a radio collar.

We ended the morning having never heard a single gobble, but with the image of the deer slowly picking its way through the woods in our minds.