On the traditional day when we give thanks for our many blessings, I am especially thankful for the opportunity to be a frequent and careful observer of the natural beauty of several wildlife parks located in Northern Virginia, and for many good friends with whom I share the experience. Happy Thanksgiving! Now let’s have some turkey…
Signs of Wildlife
Although I have never seen a Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA, I know they’re there because of several items that were observed at the refuge recently.
A tail feather from a Wild Turkey was photographed in situ along Easy Road. The feather is approximately eleven inches (11″) long from end-to-end.
A wing feather was photographed in situ along Easy Road, near the preceding tail feather. The feather is approximately ten inches (10″) long from end-to-end.
Thanks to Mike Boatwright for confirming my tentative identification of the tail feather and for identifying the wing feather.
Lots of animal scat, possibly from Wild Turkey, was observed along Easy Road near the Wild Turkey feathers shown above.
Animal scat, possibly from a Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), photographed in situ along Easy Road at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA.
Animal scat, possibly from a Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), photographed in situ along Easy Road at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA.
Animal scat, possibly from a Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), photographed in situ along Easy Road at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA.
Animal scat, possibly from a Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), photographed in situ along Easy Road at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, Virginia USA.
Did you notice the brown flies on the animal scat? They may be Scathophaga furcata, a species of dung fly. Thanks to Matt Pelikan from the BugGuide Facebook group and Charles Davis from the Capital Naturalist Facebook group for help in identifying the flies!
Related Resource: The Feather Atlas – Flight Feathers of North American Birds, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Forensics Laboratory.
Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
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