Fowl Friends

One of the first signs of spring is that the wildlife start pairing up.

In all the neighboring fields there are large flocks of ducks and geese playing the Matchmaker game.

Most of the fields are along the river, which is a prime spot to marry, mate, hatch eggs and raise young'uns.

A little further inland there are huge groups of turkeys gathering on manure piles and looking for any tidbit left behind.  No mating rituals going on yet, at least from what I could see.  of course I think the majority of these turkeys are male.

There were about 80 turkeys in this group and they were very intent on snacking and scratching.

Click on the photos to make them bigger and really feel the manure pile.

 

Back at my own field I had a bunch of crocus come up and bloom since I had left the house several hours earlier.  Really amazes me how fast these little flowers appear.

And dissapear....   Once the flock finds something, they shred it, eat it or destroy it.

The ducks stampeded through the crocus and squashed them flat.

So I did get to enjoy them for about 9 minutes.

I presently have one hen who seems a bit phobic about being on the ground.
She will only stand on rocks, the nest box roof, the coop steps or stay in the coop for the day.
Very strange.

Any suggestions ?

A very dear friend made this stained glass for a coworker.

This photo does not do it justice.

I hope someday she will do one of the Silver Appleyard ducks.

Whats your favorite fowl ?
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