This spring the male turkeys that visited my yard spent a lot of time displaying.  Well, it must have worked (at least for one).  A female started visiting to feed her nine poults (turkey chicks) at our bird feeders. The little round birds were so cute when they first arrived in early June.  They were very skittish and the mother did not allow any approach, even when we went out to throw some seed on the ground, so the first few photos are from the kitchen window. Normally, the adults stay within six to eight feet when we walk about the yard, especially if we are bringing seed. As the poults got older, the mother did get comfortable with us bringing seed and rarely moved more than six feet out of our way, and would start running for the seed before we’d finished throwing it.  The image of the single poult was taken on August 1, and is just about two months old.

 When young, the poults would occasionally hide under the mother’s belly for warmth or protection.  You can see a couple sets of small legs.  There are five poults under the mother.