I parked and waited for sunrise to come, thinking that I could go either left or right from the truck in case there was a gobbler on the other side of the road. I had told myself that if I heard nothing I’d go left from the truck. I waited and heard nothing. I wasn’t expecting to hear much. It had rained overnight some and in my limited turkey experience, they don’t like to talk when they’re wet. So to the left I went. I walked slowly through the woods.
The woods were gorgeous. Pretty heavy canopy of hardwoods and fairly open understory. Palmettos here and there. Knee high grasses in some of the more open areas. It was thicker in some areas with saplings and bushes growing in scattered stands. I could see farther than I thought I’d be able to, which also meant that if I wasn’t careful a turkey could see me just as easily. Well, perhaps easier since that’s what they do all day, look for things that don’t belong and run like crazy when they get scared of the slightest little thing that scares them. So, I walked slowly. I stopped often to listen and look. I heard no gobbles and I heard no hens. I called a few times just to see if I could get a response. Nada. Looked like it was shaping up to be one of those mornings where I have a nice walk through the woods. There were some neat critters to see though.
I continued my slow progress through the woods. I was fortunate since I’m not the quietest woods walker in the world that the ground was soaked and all the leaves underfoot also soaked. I was making surprisingly little noise.
I stopped next to this tree to listen some and look around a lot. As I was looking off to my left through a gap in a stand of bushes and saplings and a few palmettos, a hen was just poking along feeding on her way to who knows where. She wasn’t concerned. She clearly had not seen me. She was nowhere near in range but it still got my heart going. Even though she was a hen. I stood there and watched her. I didn’t want to scare her off. From what I could see and hear, she was by herself. She eventually wandered off and I gave her time to really get gone, while still watching to see if I could see a turkey following her.
After five minutes or so, I slowly walked over to the place where I saw the hen. I was listening intently, hoping that I didn’t spook a gobbler, or even another hen. When I got to where she was, and the edge of the stand of brush, I could see in front of me a well-used animal path and a nice clearing. The low area had no vegetation and in wetter years would no doubt hold water. Right now it was just full of leaves and sticks. Around it though was a field of grasses, with enough trees scattered throughout to create a gorgeous canopy for the sun to filter through. Though there was no sun that morning. It was still cloudy and the forecast called for more rain later in the day. But from time to time the sun peeked through.
I looked around where I was standing and just behind me was a nice tree for sitting down against. With my hearing no birds gobble, I figured this spot was as good a place as any to sit. I had seen a hen go through there and it was early still. Perhaps, I told myself, there would be more following her. And perhaps one of the turkeys following her would be a gobbler. So I sat very patiently and very quietly just listening to the woods.
Probably fifteen minutes goes by and I start hearing rustling in the leaves way off to the right. Off to my right is a good chunk of that stand of bushes and saplings with a little palmetto sort of kind of in front of me, as well as three one foot diameter trees. So it wasn’t easy to see through the brush to find where the noise was coming from. What I was hearing wasn’t very loud, though it was frequent. I told myself that it was likely a squirrel or armadillo grubbing through the leaves. I couldn’t really tell if it was getting closer but it wasn’t going away either. As I kept watching I saw movement through the bushes. As I sat trying to decide what I thought the little movement was from, I saw a turkey back!
My heart went from nice and slow to trying to beat its way out of my chest in a flash. I didn’t even know if it was a hen, a jake or a gobbler. It was a turkey and my thinking had been correct so I was pretty tickled with myself. I got my gun up in position. The tree I had sat up against was on the edge of the opening through the brush, the same opening I had watched the hen walk by, so I had some open shooting lanes available to me. The turkey just had to be a gobbler and he just had to walk his way over my direction. I continued to watch that turkey back and when the head attached to that back popped up I could see it was a hen. But about the same time the hen’s head popped up, I saw a redheaded turkey come around a tree from the direction she had come. I couldn’t see his body through the brush but I could see his head!
Then came the internal debate: Do I call? Should I not call? I didn’t want her to be a possessive hen and hear another hen calling and turn and go away taking her suitor with her. But perhaps she’d take offense and come over to whoop my butt. I sat there, attempting to control the shakes I had at seeing the red headed turkey and debated calling. I’m not a particularly good mouth caller. In fact I’m lucky to get the things to even squeal. I’m not bad at the slate call, but I need both hands to use the slate and I was scared that 1. the turkeys would haul butt over the 35 or so yards to see the newcomer and I wouldn’t have my gun in place or 2. the turkeys would see the movement in the otherwise still woods and haul butt away in fear for their lives.
All the while I was having this internal debate the pair were feeding and slowly meandering my way. They’d disappear behind brush I couldn’t see through and reappear where I could see them. Sometimes it seemed like they were going away and then all of a sudden they’d be a little closer. Thinking about it later, my guess is they were just kind of feeding in circles, but generally heading in my direction. I decided to remain quiet. They were coming my way, though not as fast as I would like. I was sitting there doing my best to control my breathing. Breathing deeply and slowly exhaling. Controlling the involuntary shudders that were trying to break free, though I couldn’t slow down my heart. If I’d been driving 80 mph I don’t know that I could’ve caught up to my heart if it did break loose from my chest.
Then they went behind the three trees that were almost right in front of me, more like at my 1 and 2 o’clock position, but they totally blocked my view of the hen leading her suitor down the clearing. I knew that once they were clear of the trees that were blocking my view, they’d be fair game. I gripped my gun and waited. And waited. And waited. And waited some more. I thought what the heck???? Where are they? The desire to get up and peek around the trees was strong. Very strong. But I squashed that desire. Though I still wondered where they were. It’s three trees for crying out loud. Where could they have gone??? I relaxed just a little as I’d gotten my gun pulled in tight against my shoulder and held the fore end tight and I was getting a little cramped up. And once I relaxed the hen walked out. Straight in front of me and coming straight at me, feeding as she went. She’d apparently gone behind my three trees and then walked straight away from me to feed around some trees on the far side of the clearing and then walk back into the clearing onto the path that they’d been following. But where was her partner?
I kept looking beyond her, expecting him to come out from behind the same trees, but he wasn’t. Was he just feeding slower? Had he wandered away and I just couldn’t see him because of the blocked view? Where was he? The hen got a little more into the clearing and she noticed me. I thought ****! This is it, she’s noticed me and they’ll be gone soon. But she never putted. She never clucked. She didn’t even turn away. She just stretched her neck high, super alert and looking at me. About the same time she stuck her neck high, her boyfriend came walking out from behind my three trees, but just on the edge. Maybe fifteen yards from me and I could see a good beard to go with his lovely red head. I don’t know how my heart could’ve beaten faster but for an instant it did. Then once he noticed his lady at full alert, he took a step forward a little more into the clearing, away from my three trees and obliged me by sticking his head straight up to take a look as well.
The hen flushed as the sound of my shotgun echoed through the woods. My grin was HUGE! I was unable to contain my excitement for chancing upon a hen and seeing my thoughts work out the way I hoped they might. I collected my trophy for the day, admiring how absolutely gorgeous he was, being tickled about how he walked right on in. I took a few pictures to remember the morning by.
Then I started thinking about Sunday. I got up and took a look around and picked a spot that would be far enough back in the clearing against another line of brush to make a little ground blind for the next morning. I thought that if nothing else, that spot would be a good place to start. I’d already be a ways into the woods and so would hopefully hear a gobbler if he was farther back in the woods than I would be able to hear from my truck. And where there are hens there are bound to be gobblers. The question was how many gobblers were in that area though? With my plans and blind made and my excitement high, I strapped my pack on, slung my gun across my back and then slung my turkey across my back and made my way back to the truck. I did have to stop to figure out what all the ruckus was above me.
On the way out there were some gorgeous flowers in bloom. Crossvine is beautiful and hopefully I can get it well established at my place. The hummingbirds love it and they’re one of the first to bloom in the early spring, usually before the wisteria. Or at least that’s been my experience.
As I headed home, I took a detour to explore some new areas. And how beautiful they were.
Sunday couldn’t get here quick enough though. I got out there and walked through the woods. Something scared the bejeezus out of me as much as I scared the peewaddling out of it. Whatever it was, I almost stepped on it in the dark as I was trying to stealthily make it to my blind and the ruckus it made on its way out of my way was huge. I was sure everything in the woods for miles could hear it.
The weather wasn’t as nice as it had been the day before. In that by the time I got to my blind and got all situated, it began raining very lightly. It wasn’t too bad though. The canopy was catching most of the rain so I was only occasionally being dripped on by the leaves above me. I did not have very high hopes at all. Rainy day turkeys tend to be very tight lipped, though most all of my turkeys are always tight lipped, and really there isn’t much uglier than a wet turkey. Amazing how a creature of such beauty can turn to ugly just by adding water. BUT I was out there and even if a wet turkey strolled by, I’d invite him home with me. I wouldn’t allow ugly to prevent me from bringing a bird home.
So I sat and waited for the woods to come alive. I love sitting in the woods as the sun is rising and hearing the music of the woods begin, usually with the owls and chuck-wills-widows and then the cardinals and wrens and all the other little birds of the forest. Normally it’s so loud that I have to strain all the other birds out in order to hear a gobbler. Sunday though dawned very quiet. The rain was keeping everything silent. Not that I blame the birds. Not many people want to sing in the rain when they could stay snuggled down and warm. But I did hear a couple of owls. Then a few little birds say hello very briefly. No gobble though. Not a single one. I wasn’t surprised. It was raining, even if lightly, after all. So I didn’t say anything with my slate. I just sat and watched from my blind, watching the clearing, especially the direction the turkeys had come from the day before.
Nothing. No squirrels barking or digging through the leaves. Nothing. I sat there and told myself I’d give myself til 9 and then if I didn’t hear anything, I’d get up and take a walk. The woods were almost eerily quiet and I nearly jumped out of my skin when my phone started ringing….well vibrating. I had the forethought to put it on silent, just in case someone wanted to call me early in the morning, though that someone could only be my mother. Who else would call so early?
I let it complete its vibrating while I laughed at myself for being so easily startled when I thought I heard a gobble. It was a ways off, but I could’ve sworn that that was a gobble. Although how far away it was I couldn’t begin to guess. Things are always muffled in the woods and who knows, perhaps the bird was facing away from me. I got the call out and called a few yelps out. Nothing. Hmmmmmmmm. Perhaps he didn’t hear me, so I called harder and louder. YUP indeed that was a turkey. I sat for a bit trying to decide how far away he was and was he far enough away that I could get up and try to go to him? I thought about the woods and how open it was, how if I got up it would be easy for him to see me coming, probably easier for him than me. I figured I would just sit there, cross my fingers, hope he didn’t pick up a hen, and hope that he’s in the mood to come to me instead of me (the hen) coming to him.
I waited a minute or so and called. No response. Hmmmmmmmmm ok big boy. So I called loud and hard and fast. He gobbled again! He sounded like he was getting closer! So I sat and listened. He was still a ways off, and hearing him walk through the woods would be difficult if not impossible with the wet ground, but I thought maybe. I called kind of soft again, thinking if he was coming closer he’d be able to hear me better. No response. Hmmmmmmmmmmm alrighty then. So there I go with the loud and hard and fast calling. He cut me off this time, but I kept calling as he gobbled. He gobbled again when I finished. He has a preference for the loud callers eh? So every so often I’d call loud and hard and fast and he’d respond to me and definitely he was coming closer. My gun was up on my knee but not mounted to my shoulder yet as I had to use both hands to call. He was coming from directly in front of me, so had I been at my tree I was at the day previous, he would’ve been coming from directly behind me. Not what I had planned, but I was sure to pick a tree to set up against that would allow me to move around if I needed to. I wasn’t stuck to just shooting out towards the clearing. So in between some of the earlier calls, I moved myself a little to get more pointed in the correct direction, hoping that he wasn’t going to change directions totally and come in from the direction the birds came in from yesterday.
I didn’t know how my calling didn’t sound like I was shaking cuz I was. I had me a gobbler coming into me! When I called and he gobbled right away and I could feel it, then I heard a drum, I dropped the slate and mounted my gun totally. And I watched for him to be coming out. Finally I saw his head come out from behind the tree I had been set up at the day before! He didn’t walk towards the clearing though, he walked into the brush again, though towards me, and stopped just on the edge of the brush. There were some decent sized saplings in the way so I didn’t shoot. He stood there, looking intently for his loud mouth sweetie. When he couldn’t find her, he continued through the brush, still plenty close to shoot and perhaps he’s played this game before with other hunters. He can’t see his lady and he’s not coming out. But this time he stopped in an area with just tall grasses in front of him and bushes behind and to the sides of him.
When I shot, he hardly moved a feather after he hit the ground. I was so excited that I’d managed to call in a bird to that area! That he’d come to me! I stumbled out of the blind in my haste to go collect my guest for dinner. And there is no doubt there isn’t much uglier than a wet turkey. But hot damn! I still had me a gobblin turkey coming to see me! Ugly or not!
On the walk out I stopped to take a picture of the woods, and while standing there I heard something growling at me. A very deep growl. I turned around to see where the growling was coming from but I never could find it. No doubt it was a gator telling me to get on out of his or her woods. I told them good bye and I was on my way and thank you for allowing me to trespass.
On the drive out I noticed some rain lilies that were fresh in coming up and after looking to see that he’d dried up a little so he wasn’t pure wet, I figured that would be a great place for him to have a picture taken of his sorta kinda gorgeous self.
The drive home was rainy in most places, but I did stop to enjoy some of the scenery.
I love it when the turkeys and the stars align with what I hope to have happen while turkey hunting. I do love turkeys.
