*Little Brown Job, not
I encountered a flock of Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) birding at Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge (Stevensville, MT) today. At first I could not make out what that big dark form in the field was. True to its nature it moved slow and I could make out the field marks. Distance views do not do justice to this huge iridescent bird.
To my delight I noticed a handful of birds much closer to my position. Sticking the camera out the car window the birds carried on foraging while I recorded the reflective spectrum of bronzes et al. As as good as the feeding show was, that was not the end.
I exited the Refuge only to quickly spy a large group of turkey in a mature Cottonwood on private property. Note the Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) perched in the same tree, check the left upper corner of above photo for size context.
Parting shot for your own viewing enjoyment!
