Jumping Brook Preserve 2/26--Wild Turkey

I thought I would eventually be writing a post that said something along the lines of, "Well, finally, the turkeys have returned to our backyard. I haven't seen them since October 24th of last year." I may note the first half that sentence sometime this year, but it won't be my first sighting of them since last fall. 

Since someone built a rudimentary bridge over one of the breaches between bogs at Jumping Brook Preserve, I've been exploring paths that were inaccessible previously. These dikes go back to the boundary line between the preserve and Fort Dix and today had a few sparrows, some which, like Savannah and Swamp Sparrows, are supposedly infrequently reported and some of which were too fast to identify.  I also came across a Greater Yellowlegs, which, according to eBird had never been reported in the 20km x 20km square that I was in at this time of year--amazing. And while I was documenting that yellowlegs, 8 Common Ravens flew over head, breaking the filter. When I emerged from the preserve on to Cranberry Canners Road 2½ hours later, I had 28 species for the day, which lately, ain't bad, though I missed easy ones like chickadee and White-throated Sparrow. 

I was opening the door to my car when I looked to my right and saw 3 Wild Turkeys, two toms, one on either side of the cannery fence and another turkey, which I think was immature, crossing the road. The toms would occasionally display, I guess trying to establish dominance, which was amusing considering the fence between them. I don't know if one flew into the cannery's yard, or two flew over  the fence. When I say "cannery" I mean the ruins of the cannery, which was once a big New Egypt operation and one of the precursors of Ocean Spray. 

I've been seeing reports of turkeys in Toms River, but nothing from the western section of the county, so it was good to finally run into these guys. 

My Jumping Brook list:

29 species
Canada Goose  4
Mallard  1
Ring-necked Duck  15
Hooded Merganser  18
Wild Turkey  3     CC Road by cannery fence
Mourning Dove  2
Killdeer  3     Heard on 3 separate bogs
Greater Yellowlegs  1     Possibly 2. Saw one on different bog after first one flew off
Turkey Vulture  2
Red-shouldered Hawk  1     Heard CC Road
Red-bellied Woodpecker  2
Downy Woodpecker  2
Hairy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  11     Exact count. 6 at cannery 3 on entrance path 2 on bogs
Blue Jay  4
American Crow  1     Heard
Common Raven  8     Exact count. 6 then 2 all croaking as they flew overhead
Tufted Titmouse  1
White-breasted Nuthatch  2     Heard
Carolina Wren  1     Heard
Eastern Bluebird  1     Heard entrance
American Robin  1
House Finch  1     Heard
Dark-eyed Junco  3
Savannah Sparrow  2     Bogs near Ft Dix
Song Sparrow  2
Swamp Sparrow  1     Bogs near Ft Dix
Red-winged Blackbird  10
Northern Cardinal  1     Heard CC Road