We have several older apple trees planted in a line down the slope of our property. These are the trees we had professionally pruned a few years ago (back when we had money).
These trees are far more healthy than they were before the pruning, and we anticipate many decades of apples as a result.
This productivity, we found, isn't lost on the wildlife.
Don called me out to the deck this morning. "There are turkeys in the top of one of the apple trees," he said. "Grab your camera."
Sure enough we saw two turkeys at the very top of the tree, balancing their heavy bodies on the skinny branches. (We also saw a third turkey halfway up the tree, but it was harder to photograph.)
At first it simply looked like the birds were feasting on the apples. But the longer we watched, the more interesting it became. It seemed the turkeys were deliberately knocking apples down.
And here's the thing: Beneath and downslope from the tree, no fewer than four deer and a whole bunch of turkeys were scarfing down the apples.
As we watched, the upper turkeys knocked more fruit off the tree, and we saw a few dozen apples rolling downhill. The turkeys on the ground below worked them over.
This behavior went on for several minutes, with the upper turkeys knocking down apples and the lower turkeys and the deer taking advantage of it.
Then the upper turkeys flew down and joined the feast, which the deer were already enjoying.
I dunno, it sure seemed deliberate to us.
And you don't hunt deer OR turkeys on your homestead? Beef from your own farm is great and I know you have plenty of it, but wild animal protein is such a precious resource.
ReplyDeleteAs I'm sure you know, birds are smarter than you'd think. Living in a beach town, I have seen seagulls deliberately drop clams from up high to break the shells so they can get to the meat.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if any turkeys go near my apple trees, I am certainly running outside with a broom yelling SHOO!
DeleteWhat a precious treat it is to observe wildlife being so smart. I get excited to run and get the camera sometimes, too. Thanks for sharing. Great pics!
ReplyDeleteMy neighbors have apple trees that they don't harvest. I have watched the turkeys do the same thing. Two or three birds fly into the tree and knock down the fruit to their friends below.
ReplyDeleteWe once had turkeys wandering around the freeway where traffic slows going through town. People couldn't believe their eyes.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see God's creation being resourceful and sharing with each other. That must have been quite a sight. I imagine smaller critters came along and finished the bits and pieces left behind. The deer around here eat the pears and after a chomp, half of the fruit falls out of their mouths. We find half eaten fruit all the time. Critters bring their treasures to our place because we have a year round creek on the other side of our fence. We have so much wildlife because of the creek. It's funny because we are a neighborhood with houses lined up down both sides of the street. There is a greenbelt above and then the creek and we see animals cross the street like pedestrians. All this is a five minute walk from two grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, a hardware store, a feed store and a bit further is the freeway. It is the quietest neighborhood with wildlife and yet close to anything we need. A little more space between neighbors would be nice. We have a small home in a beautiful surrounding. We would probably take a half day drive to someplace like your homestead area to get away, but we never joyfully drive into the city. Thanks for the visuals!🦃🦃
I have seen the same behavior from squirrels in oak trees knocking down acorns for their buddies.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful phenomenon to witness. Kind of reminds me of that “Coexist. Can’t we all get along?” bumper sticker😂.
ReplyDeleteShades of "An' ah hailped".
ReplyDelete