I got a phone call yesterday from my brother out west who just had to report on the strangest thing he's ever heard of with wild turkeys.
Keep in mind, this guy has been the death of over a hundred turkeys, and has been involved in the trapping and releasing of hundreds more, and has raised penned birds for ages. So he's heard of or seen a lot of strange stuff.
Anyway, one of his hunting buddies was hunting a mountainous area that turkeys are not generally known to be in. These are merriams.
He had seen a lone hen a couple days earlier, and went into the area and did some cold calling. Eventually, a lone hen came in to him. She saw him, and instead of being alarmed, she squatted down into the breeding posture.
He was standing up, and so he just figured he'd play the part. So he squatted and put his arms down like he was strutting, and did a spit-n-drum for her. She just sat there in the posture, and so he eased over and lightly touched her on the back. She jumped up, and went over further and squatted again. So, he kept "strutting" and eased over to her, and got real close (while she remained in the breeding posture) and grabbed her and picked her up. 
Keep in mind, this guy has been the death of over a hundred turkeys, and has been involved in the trapping and releasing of hundreds more, and has raised penned birds for ages. So he's heard of or seen a lot of strange stuff.
Anyway, one of his hunting buddies was hunting a mountainous area that turkeys are not generally known to be in. These are merriams.
He had seen a lone hen a couple days earlier, and went into the area and did some cold calling. Eventually, a lone hen came in to him. She saw him, and instead of being alarmed, she squatted down into the breeding posture.
He was standing up, and so he just figured he'd play the part. So he squatted and put his arms down like he was strutting, and did a spit-n-drum for her. She just sat there in the posture, and so he eased over and lightly touched her on the back. She jumped up, and went over further and squatted again. So, he kept "strutting" and eased over to her, and got real close (while she remained in the breeding posture) and grabbed her and picked her up. 
That's weird.
