Yesterday at our house we had an early showing of Eastern Screech-owl in the nest box (~2pm), followed later that night by the hooting of a Great-horned Owl (8-ish). About 15-16 turkeys have been hanging around the house yesterday and today. This morning, I heard a resonant sound like someone banging a cowbell slowly. When I went to track down the sound, I found a turkey pecking at a painted slate sign that we have hanging low in the garden (it says "Chipmunk Crossing" and has a chipmunk painted on it). He would peck it, watch it swing back and forth a few seconds, then peck it again, and pick at the rope that it hangs on intermittently. He had a friend that was watching this nearby. I couldn't determine the turkey's motives for pecking the sign, whether for amusement or to tell the chipmunks where they could go.
It certainly was amusing for me! Robyn Bailey Lansing -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --