Pasadena Road 2/20--Wild Turkey

I always say that in birding it all depends upon your life-line intersecting with the bird's life-line. But Wild Turkeys have lots of life-lines and my life-line zigzags all over the place, so it was astounding to me that until I turned onto Pasadena Road this morning, I hadn't seen a turkey in 4 months to the day. Consider that the majority of my sightings are from our backyard, and it is even more astounding. 

I had spent the first part of the morning walking and backtracking at Reeves Bogs. I hadn't been there in a few months and in the interim some of the makeshift bridges had either shifted or been flooded by beavers so two or three times I found myself having to retrace my steps. On one of the back bogs I ran into my friend going in the opposite direction. After we stopped and compared bird notes, I asked him how he was getting back to his truck--he parks on the opposite of the bogs from where I do. "I'll just make a right up here on this path," he said. I laughed. "Why, is it flooded?" he asked. "I had to climb over a tree," I told him. "Oh, the tree," he said, "I won't cross that bridge anymore. I know about the tree." 

While I only counted 16 species on my meanders, among those species were close to 50 Tundra Swans (more than twice what I can expect at Whitesbog lately), hen & drake Wood Ducks (always a nice surprise), and 4 Green-winged Teal, unusual for this time of year. 

I considered heading to South Park Road, but having walked my requisite 4 miles at Reeves, I didn't need any more exercise. Impulsively, I turned onto Pasadena Road which runs through J.J.White's (the White in Whitesbog) property. I didn't expect much, but on the Pinelands Count, I did come across a Northern Harrier in the bogs. I had no real expectation of a year bird, so when I saw a flock of big birds in a scrubby field immediately on my right, I figured they would be geese. But of course, they were the turkeys, a big flock of 22. I couldn't get very close to them (private property) but took what photos I could from the fence line. I always find it much more satisfying to stumble upon a year bird than to go searching for one. 

I drove all the way back to City Line Road (what city, I wonder) without finding too much of interest. There are a lot of roads back there that look interesting, but I suspect they're more interesting to ATV riders than to birds. Maybe in spring migration a day could be devoted to exploring the roads that go back to the Pole Bridge Branch.