Nearly every day, along my drive to work, I see a flock of Wild Turkey in this crop field.  Sometimes they are so far away they look like black spots on the horizon and sometimes they are within 100 yards of the road.  Last Thursday, I noticed a couple turkey, necks entangled, away from the rest of the flock.  I pulled into an access road just off the highway to photograph the birds.

This fight became more intense as minutes passed.  One characteristic of a turkey fight is biting one another's beak which is what is happening in the photo below.

Wild Turkey

With bloody faces, the fight went on for another 20 minutes.

Wild Turkey

At that time, other males left the flock and approached the fight.  Although the remaining photos in this blog post contain only four turkey, there was a fifth that joined the confrontation.  You can see the wounded faces in the center as the other curious birds stepped in.

Wild Turkey

Another characteristic of a fighting male wild turkey is to jump in the air and, using the spurs on the backs of its legs, attempt to scratch the opposition.  The spurs, which can grow two inches long, are pointed, bony spikes used for defense and to establish dominance.

Wild Turkey

Wild Turkey

This guy is poised for a rematch.

Wild Turkey

After about 20 minutes the fight seemed to end and quietness came over the field.

Wild Turkey

As I passed the field Friday morning, everything was back to normal.  There were about 12 wild turkey feeding in the field and they were all getting along.  I'm not terribly knowledgeable about wild turkey but I suspect more fights like this will take place, vying for dominance, in the upcoming mating season. 

To view more photos of this fight check out the Grouse & Allies gallery.

Thanks for looking and check back soon.

Dan

3/10/14 - Update.  I received a comment on this post from wildlife photographer, Willard Hill, who specializes in elk, deer, and turkey.  Knowing of his knowledge, I asked him if he could elaborate on turkey fighting.  I think what he wrote was interesting and most of us can learn from it.  Rather than expect everyone to open the comments section, I decided to post it here, in a more visible place.

From Willard Hill:

"I am around turkeys quite a bit from autumn through the end of the mating season in the following spring and it is fairly common to see this, although the fights that last that long are fairly rare. Usually it is just a bit of running about, cackling and kick boxing, with a bit of flogging and then they settle down to feeding. I have seen them with heads locked at least twice within the last 2 weeks, but it was at very long range with no chance for food photos or video. The first long fight that I saw happened in the winter and both Coy and I were present. He took stills of it and I took video. At this point I forget how long it lasted, but I feel sure it was over 10 minutes.

Also I have noticed that if one has a large flock of jakes present and a lone gobbler or two shows up, that the jakes may attack the gobblers and harass them so much that they will leave the area.. It can also get interesting if one flock of mature gobblers is in an area and another flock shows up. Sometimes they simply co-exist in peace, but I have seen one flock of gobblers line up in a V formation and charge the other. This sometimes results in a brawl or one flock may flee the area without actual contact ocurring.

You are to be commended for capturing such detailed, dramatic photos. These are some of the best photos I have seen of a turkey fight."