When springtime finally arrives and the fields and forests are shaking off the last of the icy days, if you find yourself near a green spot in the landscape you might hear one of the most distinct bird calls in nature: the sounds of the male wild turkey calling for his mate. No, I’m not going to get all Nature Channel on you here and describe mating rituals, but I am going to talk about my family’s history and the wild turkey.
When my Uncle Mark Hanger was a young boy, he spent many days wandering the mountains of Virginia. Some days he carried a gun, but mostly he walked and made observations. He would listen to a barred owl and wait while the wild turkey would issue its angry response call. He would pick tea berries and think about the grouse that foraged on those same little fruits. He would pull ginseng from the fertile soil and save it for tea or trade it for something at his grandfather’s general store. These days in the woods prepared my uncle for a life in forestry, but they also gave him a knowledge of the woods that he has in turn passed down to his sons and to me as well. I can recount many walks in the woods with Uncle Mark. Every few minutes he would point out another fascinating fact of nature: the way a shaved tree marks a deer’s territory, the slight bend in the pine needle that represents a certain type of fungus, or the way the wind blows that keeps the bears in their den while hunters walk the woods. Mark’s son, and my cousin, Lance Hanger, brother to John Hanger (see blog posting about grouse & mountain lion attack) absorbed a lot of that wisdom, but what he was most interested in was the wild turkey.
The wild turkey is a very strange bird, firstly because of its size. Many people remark after seeing this bird for the first time, “I didn’t realize it was so huge!” and “why have I never seen these birds before?” The answer to the second question lies in the turkeys keen eyesight and its ability to become a ghost in the woods, stealthily cruising on its long legs in the underbrush and then pounding its wings to take flight if danger approaches. Most people also think the wild turkey cannot fly, however it has powerful wings which help it glide down the side of a mountain, carrying itself miles from danger in less than a minute.
What cousin Lance found most interesting about this large game bird was its challenging list of bird calls. Backyard birders are familiar with the Northern Cardinal and its distinctive and cheerful call. The same might be said of the Loon with its melodramatic and eerie call that can be heard in just about any movie that features a lake. However, the Wild Turkey has a list of calls that outnumber most wild birds, with over ten different vocalizations in its repertoire. Lance has made it his goal, and successfully, to imitate each of these calls. Why? Well, for two reasons...
In the hunting world, imitating a turkey call can lead to a successful hunt and if you don’t know which call to use, the birds might just turn around and go someplace else. It’s kind of like if your mom called you to come inside when you are a kid. If she sounded really ticked off, you knew you had done something bad so you might not rush home right away. However if she said “dinners ready,” you'd probably come running. These same principles apply to turkey calling.
Second, being a good turkey caller has its rewards outside of the woods. While other kids are playing on their Wii, Lance is currently riding around in a Chevy Avalanche truck that was given to him by one of his sponsors because he is the national wild turkey calling champion. He’s also been on Versus TV as well as the Men’s Channel. Here's a link to his website: hammeronzone.com. (Just a warning, if you are squeamish about hunting, don’t watch the video!)
While Lance and I are on two different sides of the bird, I’m not so much of a hunter as I am a watcher, we both appreciate a good bird call every now and then. So, the next time you see a guy with binoculars trying to imitate a wild bird, just think about how cool that guy might actually be and instead of making fun of him, maybe you should ask for his autograph. Or better yet, ask him to do his best turkey call.
For some turkey call practice of your own, check out this iPhone turkey call app.
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