It's ironic that on the same day I was posting Lovett Williams' photo of the strutting hen (see Oct. 1 entry), Turkey & Turkey Hunting online editor Corey Graff was encountering a different hen that was full of herself. The next day he sent me this photo and story:














Turkey vs. Jeep

Driving home from the F+W offices, I made a turn onto a lightly traveled
country road and came face-to-face with a turkey defiantly standing
her ground in the center of the road. I came to a stop. The turkey poked herhead up and seemed to be challenging me -- then ran to one side of the road, turned and then puffed up her chest and stared at my Jeep.

As I began to pull forward, she ran back in front of me, so I stopped again. Suddenly the bird turned and ran away down the centerline, then stopped, turned around and again began defiantly posturing.

She never strutted, but the display continued for several minutes -- long enough to pull out my camera and shoot a few photos throughthe bug-splattered windshield -- until eventually the bird stepped aside and allowed me to drive past. Even then, shen never ran off.

Did this bold bird have little ones in the nearby brush it was protecting?
Or did the turkey simply feel like playing chicken? If the latter was the case, the real question is: Who won?