Turkeys in the Straw

Because of the recent California drought, the grassy glen behind my son's East Bay house was as dry as a field of straw wanting to be harvested.

Ergo, the wild turkeys that regularly wander the little valley were looking a bit scrawny the last time we visited in August. That is not to say they were dying off; in fact, the flock has grown.

We saw at least 14 across the way one afternoon, eight crossed the street in front of us one morning (unfortunately, I was driving and my camera wasn't quite handy). Plus there was a car right behind us. We also saw three young turkeys taking a dust bath not far from the adults.

The turkeys were all over the place. We saw one almost every time we drove down the hill to get to the shopping centers. The one thing we didn't see was any tom gobblers displaying.

Maybe it was too hot to get hot and they were having a drink to cool off? Mmmmm, could be.