The Thanksgiving Turkey

Blog Category
Discover Nature Notes
Published Display Date
Nov 24, 2019
Body

Chances are, a turkey will land on your table this week, a bird simmered in American tradition.

The turkey was once so common in America and so well liked that it was considered for our national emblem, along with the bald eagle.

Turkeys are large and powerful, standing three feet tall when alert. They have bare necks covered with red and blue, bumpy skin. Long legs, broad wings and tail make them swift runners, as well as quick flyers for short distances. Their feathers are large, mostly brown, barred with black. Body feathers reflect shades of bronze, green, gold, and blue--beautiful colors that help turkeys blend into wooded areas.

Turkeys were domesticated by Native Americans and brought to Europe in the sixteenth century. Taken from Mexico by the Spanish conquistadors, turkeys later returned as domesticated birds with the English settlers. The wild turkey almost disappeared from our continent due to excessive hunting and loss of forest habitat. Today, thanks to restoration efforts, the wild turkey has been restored in many areas.

So, whether you place a wild or domestic turkey on your thanksgiving table, you’ll be sharing a piece of our American heritage. Happy Thanksgiving Missouri!

See how wild turkeys were restored in Missouri and watch some tasty ways to prepare your wild turkey in the videos below.

FUN FACTS: Wild turkeys have more than 5,00 feathers, are swift runners, and quick flyers for short distances.

Archery Season for Turkey

Archery Season begins again on November 27, 2019 and runs through January 15, 2020.
Hunting your own Thanksgiving turkey this fall? Here are some important tips to keep in mind.

  • In the fall there is little or no gobbling activity during the day and gobblers are in small flocks (3 to 10 birds). Hens and young of the year are together in large flocks (10 to 20 birds). It is not unusual to find two to three hens together with all their young.
  • Remember to follow the basic rules of safe turkey hunting: In order to be safe, always wrap a bagged turkey or decoy in hunter orange when transporting it or carry them in a turkey hunting vest.
  • Note: Any hunter who kills or injures a turkey must make a reasonable effort to retrieve and include it in their season limit, but this does not authorize trespass.
  • It is a violation to wantonly leave, abandon, or waste commonly edible portions of game.
  • Anyone using a turkey call to assist another hunter must be properly licensed with either a filled or unfilled spring turkey hunting permit.

Learn more about turkey hunting.

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