Around 8:00 am, I headed over to the Effie Yeaw Nature Preserve for my walk. It was about 44° and cloudy when I went out, and it sprinkle-rained all the while I was walking. I had my umbrella with me, so I was okay, but I think the bright pink umbrella and my hoodied head confused a lot of the wildlife that was out there. There were lots and lots of mule deer, for example, and a few of the females walked tentatively up to me to try to figure out what I was. Hah! One of the females was limping as she walked, and I noticed that one of her ankles was badly swollen. I took some photos of her, and will let the preserve know that one of their resident deer is injured… I saw large harems of the females – and got some video snippets of them moving through the preserve – along with three large bucks, and a younger “spike buck”. Some of the females were in estrus, and the males stayed close to the harems, but they also stepped out of the thickets to check me out, so I got some really good photos of them.
I also came across a flock of wild turkeys and saw a “leucistic” one among them. Not a true albino, it was mostly white but also had some dark coloring. I guess, technically, it could be called a “diluted” turkey… It was really kewl-looking.
I walked for about two hours and then headed back to the car. Just as I got in, the clouds opened up and the sun came out. What timing!
Here’s a video of the turkey: https://youtu.be/zXSMM-obxUs
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