I saw a Tom this morning chasing some jakes away from the hens and going into full strut. He was just outside my window under a bird feeder. It was pretty decent to see him in action as he gobbled and chase the jakes away. He also looked to have at least 1 inch spurs. A very nice old bird. Just think hunting season for us will not arrive until close to May.. None the less it was great to see him in action..
Hopefully a better picture of him from yesterday..Do you think he may have a double beard or just split?

You maybe right. However when you blow the beard up it looks to be around an inch shorter on the left side. But that doesn’t necessarily mean anything either. Hopefully I will get him during our season and find out for sure.

I had five long beards on my front lawn this morning and one out back with the hens. I am hoping that they will be nearby during the end of April.

This young Tom has been taking a beaten..

I watched 3 of them getting into it this morning before a snow storm moved in. It was 2 two year old birds and an older bird. The older bird won out while a jake stayed back and enjoyed the show..

Interesting, in the pic with the group of birds, look at the different colors in the 2 gobblers. 1 is jet black and the other has all the various colors in him.
Phil, this has to make the waiting even that much harder, seeing all these mature birds around?

Yes it does Bornagain64..That black looking one is the biggest one and he rules the roost you could say.. They have a travel route going right by the house and it’s fun to watch them. A two year old and that big Tom got into it heavy this morning. It’s a lot of fun watching them. But once the flock breaks up they will all be hard to find. I wish that they would open our season up a week or two earlier. But it is what it is. That storm only left around 4 inches verses the foot that they were calling for..

It always appears to get easier after most of the hens have been bred. That’s for sure. Here after a big Tom gets shot the birds all disappear. I think that they move back deeper to avoid from getting shot. I don’t know the reason why for sure though. Sometimes they leave those big fields and openings and show up way back in the cuttings. Maybe it’s for the hens to raise their young with more cover?

Thank you everyone.. I sure wish that this morning was hunting season. I saw seven big toms in the back field this morning. Then a two year old bird walked up and was soon attacked by five of those big birds. What a sight to see. Then they all came down and out front of the house and on the road. I am thinking with all that was going on this is when the flock starts breaking up. Then down on the road a hen laid down to be bred but there was just to many toms to allow it. I was blessed to see and witness all this this morning up here. That’s the most toms I have ever seen in a group in these parts..

Great pics

Thank you for the compliment.

The flock is surely breaking up now. Yesterday they were in three smaller flocks. I am hopeful that some of those turkeys will hang around close enough for me to call in. After all the toms that I have been seeing I would think that a couple of them should be close by. Two more weeks from today it opens up and those two weeks can surely make a big difference..