2008 - year of the turkey

Many bird watchers keep lists of birds they have seen. One of the popular ones is to keep a list of all the birds you have seen in a calendar year. I no longer do this formally but I remain fascinated by what is the first bird I see each year. I have been known to do some selective things to avoid it being a commonplace bird - like not opening the curtains to look at the feeder where the House Sparrows would be.

I managed to see Wild Turkey today as my first bird for 2008. It actually took until 3 pm as it was very blustery (and it is only Tuesday!). They have been coming to feed on old fallen apples and I took this shot a couple of days ago. Not the best shot as it was through a window, I am holding the camera up under the blind to the top "screenless" pane, it is early in the morning, and they would scatter off at the slightest motion!