ML642194159

Media notes

Turn volume up to hear the birds' soft trills and whistles. I was mostly hidden behind a large oak at the Point when I made this recording, and there was no one else in the park, so what sounds like me walking through dried leaves is actually the sound of ten turkeys foraging as they pass by. The lake's water lapping on the shore can be heard, and at 0:25 a kayaker glides past, looking at the turkeys, spooks a Limpkin, and then disturbs an alligator, which noisily swirls away, causing him to chuckle.

Observation details

A flock, all adult size, but given the date it likely comprised one or two adult hens with their poults. They were rather tame, and though they kept their distance (about 30 feet) they didn't run from me but continued foraging when I sat down at the picnic table. Mostly they plucked seeds from Guinea Hen Weed (Petiveria alliacea), which has overrun the park in the last 20-30 years. When they began to work their way from the Point westward along the lakeshore, I hid behind "The Redstart Tree" and recorded their cooing noises as they passed.

Additional species

• Limpkin Aramus guarauna
• Osprey Pandion haliaetus