This Turkey Tuesday is about beating the heat. In my neck of the woods, summer has gotten to that miserable stage – hot air temperatures and high humidity that are tough to escape unless you can get inside. Well, wild turkeys don’t have the option of going inside to chill in the air conditioning, so in their world, dealing with summer’s heat takes a multi-prong approach. One, turkeys will loaf during the hottest parts of the day, finding shade and identifying cooler areas within their home ranges. Often, these areas are in lower elevations, or in open areas where shade and air movement allow them to cool. Two, turkeys dissipate heat from their heads, dewlap, and caruncles – this is particularly the case with toms like the guy chilling in the 1st pic. Three, body weights are lowest during summer because foraging rates may decline during days with extreme heat. Lastly – water. Wild turkeys require water, and although they get much of their water from insects, plants, and even dew, they will readily drink water – particularly during summer. Water sources can be ponds, lakes, streams, even puddles created after rain events. In fact, individual birds will not only use water for drinking but will walk through and even stand in shallow water (2nd pic) to facilitate heat loss. The take home is wild turkeys have an array of adaptations to deal with the brutal heat of summer, which seems to be all over the species range recently.
Pics by Monte Loomis.
