Illinois Valley news., November 21, 2018, Page 12, Image 12

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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Weather Crawlies with Cri:
Watch
Cave Junction
Thursday, Nov. 22
Rain
High --48 Low -- 46
Friday, Nov. 23
Rain
High -- 51 Low -- 40
Saturday, Nov. 24
Mostly Cloudy
High -- 50 Low -- 43
Sunday, Nov 25
Partly Cloudy
High -- 54 Low -- 42
Monday, Nov 26
Partly Cloudy
High -- 55 Low -- 45
Tuesday, Nov 27
Showers
High -- 55 Low -- 46
Wednesday, Nov 28
PM Showers
High -- 54 Low -- 44
Following are the high & low temperatures,
and rainfall recorded at The End of the Road
in O’Brien by Cheryl Johnson:
Nov
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
High
52.7
54.0
55.8
52.2
54.0
53.0
53.4
Low
23.4
25.8
25.4
24.8
29.7
26.8
28.9
Rain
Nov Rain: 0.02” YTD Rain: 2.89””
Let’s talk turkey …
wild turkey (Meleagris
gallopavo). This week’s
crawly will be the “guest
of honor” at many
Thanksgiving dinners this
week.
Fun fact: The most
common Thanksgiving
turkey, the broad-breasted
white turkey, is the exact
same species as the wild
turkey. Like different
breeds of dog, our “table
turkeys” have been bred
for specific qualities, so
when we talk about wild
or domestic turkeys it’s
like discussing labs or
poodles.
If you’ve ever had
to come to a stop in the
middle of the road to wait
for a flock of wild turkeys,
or worse yet an angry tom,
to meander their way to
the other side, you might
not think we’re “lucky”
to have wild turkeys here
in Southern Oregon, but
we are. Wild turkeys are
only native to the eastern
United States. The densest
wild turkey populations
are still found only as
far west as the Arizona
border, with isolated,
introduced populations in
several western states.
Wild turkeys were
introduced as game birds,
and because of their ability
to adapt to new turf, the
pocket populations have
become quite stable. Wild
turkeys don’t migrate so
the western populations
stay fairly localized.
Turkey fossils dating
by Christy Solo
Wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)
back 5 million years have
been found in the southern
United States and Mexico.
These birds have staying
power. Often thought of
as kind of goofy, wild
turkeys are quite clever
and have more skills than
commonly supposed.
While we’re used to
seeing them strut around,
they are excellent flyers,
reaching speeds of up to
50 miles per hour. In a
pinch they can also swim
by tucking their wings in
close, spreading their tails
and kicking.
Wild turkeys’ varied
diet also helps them thrive
in various habitats like
forests and wetlands. They
are omnivores, munching
down everything from
insects and small
amphibians to leaves,
roots, tubers, seeds, grains
and nuts. Of course, they
are also on the menu of
lots of animals, including
coyotes, bobcats, and
even eagles and owls.
Snakes, raccoons and
opossum love a good wild
turkey egg, too. Most wild
turkeys only live about
two years.
Because they are
such coveted dinner fare,
wild turkeys form those
large flocks you often see.
They’ll have four to 17
chicks in the spring, and
after a few days of care
by the individual mother
turkeys the hens will start
to band together with their
chicks for safety. In winter
they’ll form even larger
bands with males, females
and first year young.
Each band will defend a
territory from other bands.
If you’d like to see
wild turkeys in the wild,
the best time is early in the
morning or a couple hours
before sunset. They do all
of their eating right at the
start, and then again at
the end of the day before
roosting in trees overnight.
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