Our second day in Colorado ended with a little time behind the camera, and it brought us back to a place that means a great deal to me. In 2019, I launched a personal photography project I called Turkey Revolution.
The goal was to photograph the Grand Slam of North American wild turkeys—all four subspecies—in a single year. That meant the Osceola of Florida, the Eastern, America’s most widespread wild turkey, the Rio Grande of Texas, Mexico and parts of the Great Plains, and finally the mountain bird, the Merriam’s turkey.
I completed that journey right here in Estes Park.
The bird that finished the project wasn’t just any Merriam’s. It was an incredibly rare cinnamon-phase hen that also had a beard and was leading a brood of cinnamon-colored poults. It’s still one of the most memorable wildlife photography encounters I’ve ever had.
Tonight, we returned to that exact same location.
We haven’t downloaded the images from our cameras yet, but we’re excited because we photographed several Merriam’s turkeys showing that same cinnamon coloration. This is now the third time we’ve documented these unusually colored birds in this area. Once we get the photos downloaded, we’ll share them. For now, enjoy the above quick cell phone image from this evening.
We also photographed another hen with a large group of poults along with several other Merriam’s turkeys.
One of my favorite parts of the evening was watching my daughter Faith enjoy photographing them. Before we headed out she said, “I hope we see turkeys tonight.” Thankfully, the mountains delivered.
Merriam’s turkeys don’t get nearly the attention that elk, moose, bears or bighorn sheep receive here, but they are one of the Rocky Mountains’ most fascinating and overlooked wildlife species.
Did You Know?
- Merriam’s turkeys are the mountain specialists among North America’s wild turkey subspecies, commonly living in ponderosa pine forests and open mountain woodlands.
- They prefer open forests, where they can spot predators from long distances. Forest management that maintains open conditions often benefits them.
- Their diet changes with the seasons, ranging from insects and fresh green vegetation in spring and summer to acorns, pine seeds and other mast crops later in the year.
- Healthy turkey populations often reflect healthy forests. While they are adaptable birds, thriving populations usually indicate good habitat diversity and productive ecosystems.
I’ve often said that, in many ways, as turkeys go, so go America’s forests. That principle isn’t limited to the East. It certainly applies here in the Rockies, where healthy forests support everything from Merriam’s turkeys to mule deer, elk and bighorn sheep.
Today wasn’t just about photography. We also spent time with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, continuing conversations about wildlife conservation. We went and scouted an area for animals for a teen boy and his mother we are taking out to do photography in the coming days.
And this evening we put together our wildlife conservation gift packages, getting everything ready for tomorrow’s outreach.
Tomorrow is the big day. We’ll be heading to one of the park areas where families and kids often gather to hand out our conservation gift packages. Every trip like this is about more than taking pictures. It’s about helping the next generation discover the incredible wildlife around them and understand why it’s worth conserving.
We’ll share more of tonight’s turkey photos as soon as we get them downloaded from the cameras.
Until then, enjoy this quick cell phone image and if you haven’t already, be sure to read yesterday’s story about our return to Mount Blue Sky and the conservation lessons we found there. Read it here.
Chester Moore
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