# World's Ugliest Bird



## SCraig (Jan 20, 2013)

There's just really nothing "Pretty" about a Wild Turkey.  Nothing at all


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## deeky (Jan 20, 2013)

I didn't think there was much to them until I started working with the feathers tying flies.  Who knew there was so much irridescence in their feathers?  I have a lot more appreciation for their looks.  They are also quite skiddish.  You did well to get close enough for these shots.


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## Rick58 (Jan 20, 2013)

Yep, not a long trip from being a Turkey Buzzard. Nice shots BTW.


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## Ron Evers (Jan 20, 2013)

Turkey vultures are more ugly.  

I have not got close enough to get pics as nice as yours.


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## WesternGuy (Jan 20, 2013)

Nice pics Scott.  They are pretty ugly aren't they.  How were you able to get so close to them?

WesternGuy


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## SCraig (Jan 20, 2013)

deeky said:


> I didn't think there was much to them until I started working with the feathers tying flies.  Who knew there was so much irridescence in their feathers?  I have a lot more appreciation for their looks.  They are also quite skiddish.  You did well to get close enough for these shots.



They are skittish, however they are also rather smart birds and this area is a state park to the know that they are safe up to a point.  The EXIF shows that the focus distance was 25 meters, and I think some of the shots were closer than that since I had to pull the zoom back to about 400mm to get the whole bird in the frame 



Rick58 said:


> Yep, not a long trip from being a Turkey Buzzard. Nice shots BTW.





Ron Evers said:


> Turkey vultures are more ugly.
> 
> I have not got close enough to get pics as nice as yours.



I've seen a lot of buzzards / vultures but never close enough to get a photograph or a good look at.  If they are uglier than that I'm not sure I want to either.


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## SCraig (Jan 20, 2013)

WesternGuy said:


> Nice pics Scott.  They are pretty ugly aren't they.  How were you able to get so close to them?
> 
> WesternGuy



Thanks!

As I mentioned in the post above (I was writing it when you commented) they are in a state park and not all that shy.  They know they are pretty safe from people so they don't normally run away.  These quys were about 25 meters off the path (and park visitors are NOT allowed to get off the path unless they are willing to risk a $250 fine!) just grubbing around in the ground cover.  I watched them for about 20 minutes or so and they weren't real concerned about all of the people stopping to watch them.  I've seen some there several times before but normally much further up in the woods.


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## coastalconn (Jan 20, 2013)

They sure are cute!  Nice shots


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## flow (Jan 20, 2013)

I don't know, I never thought of them as ugly. Factory farm turkeys are worse! Or a shoebill stork.
I do like the 1st one especially - caught all the colors in the feathers.


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## SCraig (Jan 20, 2013)

coastalconn said:


> They sure are cute!  Nice shots



Glad you think they are cute.   My lens refused to focus and I heard a tiny "noooooooooooooooooo" coming from it


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## SCraig (Jan 20, 2013)

flow said:


> I don't know, I never thought of them as ugly. Factory farm turkeys are worse! Or a shoebill stork.
> I do like the 1st one especially - caught all the colors in the feathers.


I admit that the feathers are interesting and attractive in places, but that face is something only a mother could love 

I've never seen a factory farm turkey or a shoebill stork.  I think I'm glad I can say that


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## molested_cow (Jan 20, 2013)

Wild turkeys are far from being the world's ugliest birds. Moscuvy ducks are pretty much duck with turkey heads, nothing pretty about them except when they were young. Vultures are mostly pretty ugly too. At least turkey have pretty feathers!


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## baturn (Jan 20, 2013)

Their inner beauty comes out on the dinner table.


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## SCraig (Jan 21, 2013)

molested_cow said:


> Wild turkeys are far from being the world's ugliest birds. Moscuvy ducks are pretty much duck with turkey heads, nothing pretty about them except when they were young. Vultures are mostly pretty ugly too. At least turkey have pretty feathers!



Yeah, I've seen Muscovy ducks around here and they aren't pretty.  I still think Wild Turkeys are uglier though.



baturn said:


> Their inner beauty comes out on the dinner table.


I don't think I've ever had Wild Turkey (the food, not the alcoholic beverage!).  I suspect you're right though.


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## sm4him (Jan 21, 2013)

You've done an excellent job here bringing out their inner...err..ugliness. 
I do like the way the iridescence of the feathers shows in your photos, but yeah...that face, ugh!!!

Turkeys and vultures are just hopelessly ugly. Not sure about vultures, but turkeys have the distinction of being ugly AND stupid. :lmao:


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## molested_cow (Jan 21, 2013)

My ex coworker said he once saw a Muscovy Duck cold plate on a bar menu in Singapore, expensive dish. The irony is, in Florida these ducks are protected.


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## PixelRabbit (Jan 21, 2013)

Great shots Scott! I was getting ready to also ask what most others asked, how the heck you got so close, these guys see you coming a mile away   I kinda cheated getting the shots I have of them, they came to my feeder lol I love the iridescence in their feathers.  My biggest problem shooting them is I laugh uncontrollably when they run away, they are fast but such an awkward jerky gait lol


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## SCraig (Jan 21, 2013)

sm4him said:


> You've done an excellent job here bringing out their inner...err..ugliness.
> I do like the way the iridescence of the feathers shows in your photos, but yeah...that face, ugh!!!
> 
> Turkeys and vultures are just hopelessly ugly. Not sure about vultures, but turkeys have the distinction of being ugly AND stupid. :lmao:



From what I understand about wild turkeys they really aren't that stupid.  People who hunt them have told me that they are actually quite smart, at least as far as their survival goes.

I kept hoping one of the males would display his tail feathers in the traditional fan shape.  One of them was when I first walked up but he was half behind a tree and I missed it.  That was the only time he did it, naturally


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## SCraig (Jan 21, 2013)

molested_cow said:


> My ex coworker said he once saw a Muscovy Duck cold plate on a bar menu in Singapore, expensive dish. The irony is, in Florida these ducks are protected.



I don't know if they are legally protected around here, but none of the duck hunters I used to know would shoot one.  Heck, I don't even know if they can fly or not!  They are strange looking though, I'll give you that.


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## molested_cow (Jan 21, 2013)

Well there are plenty of them in S.Florida. They have weird temper. They are all over the parking lot and they don't move for traffic. Yes they fly, but usually only for relatively short distances. I hear they were brought to the US by early Spanish folks and they eat mosquitoes, making them valuable animals for the southern states. They like to have rough sex, and in spring, you see ducklings all over the place. They usually combine families to care for the young, and it's common to see a group of 30+ ducklings moving together with a few adult females. As for the males... they are nowhere to be seen near the ducklings.

In Florida, generally you are not allowed to interact with wild animals, endangered or not. I hear that if you "disturb" them, you can get fined.


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## Sarmad (Jan 21, 2013)

The third pic is kinda gross for me, Though all pics are surprisingly sharp, Which lens and body you use? That sharpness smells $$$$..


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## SCraig (Jan 21, 2013)

PixelRabbit said:


> Great shots Scott! I was getting ready to also ask what most others asked, how the heck you got so close, these guys see you coming a mile away   I kinda cheated getting the shots I have of them, they came to my feeder lol I love the iridescence in their feathers.  My biggest problem shooting them is I laugh uncontrollably when they run away, they are fast but such an awkward jerky gait lol



Thanks, Judi.

Shooting bird photos in this area should be considered cheating since they all know they are safe.  Except for most of the ducks they generally don't run.  These guys were milling around where two paths come together, and people were lined up on both paths watching them.  They were pretty unconcerned about it to.  The ducks there are the opposite though.  As soon as they see people walking close they head for the middle of the lake.


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## SCraig (Jan 21, 2013)

Sarmad said:


> The third pic is kinda gross for me, Though all pics are surprisingly sharp, Which lens and body you use? That sharpness smells $$$$..



They are kind of gross looking.  Especially with that big, hairy knot sticking out of their face 

EXIF data is intact, but I used a Nikon D7000 and Sigma 150-500mm lens.  The middle one was shot at 380mm and the other two at 500mm.


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## SCraig (Jan 21, 2013)

molested_cow said:


> Well there are plenty of them in S.Florida. They have weird temper. They are all over the parking lot and they don't move for traffic. Yes they fly, but usually only for relatively short distances. I hear they were brought to the US by early Spanish folks and they eat mosquitoes, making them valuable animals for the southern states. They like to have rough sex, and in spring, you see ducklings all over the place. They usually combine families to care for the young, and it's common to see a group of 30+ ducklings moving together with a few adult females. As for the males... they are nowhere to be seen near the ducklings.
> 
> In Florida, generally you are not allowed to interact with wild animals, endangered or not. I hear that if you "disturb" them, you can get fined.


Interesting, thanks for passing that along.  I've seen them but honestly never really looked up any information about them for some reason.

The state park where I shot these photos is much the same.  They have rules posted EVERYWHERE, and most anything you would normally do in a state park is forbidden here.  No running on the paths, no pets on the paths (there is a paved road through the middle and that's the only place running, bicycles, or pets is allowed), no swimming, no fishing, do not get off the paths, no musical instruments, no weddings (yeah, they really did post the last two), no picnicking, no picking the flowers, no feeding the birds.  The list goes on and on and on, and that's why I really dislike going there.  The reason I do go there is that it's close to home and there are always birds and deer to photograph.


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## molested_cow (Jan 21, 2013)

They should just ban humans altogether.


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## SCraig (Jan 21, 2013)

molested_cow said:


> They should just ban humans altogether.



Agreed.  I keep waiting to see new signs stating "No talking, no breathing, no ANYTHING.  Just look from here and don't touch or disturb anything."


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## Sarmad (Jan 21, 2013)

SCraig said:


> Sarmad said:
> 
> 
> > The third pic is kinda gross for me, Though all pics are surprisingly sharp, Which lens and body you use? That sharpness smells $$$$..
> ...



Right :thumbsup:.
That lens must be huge.


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## flow (Jan 21, 2013)

SCraig said:


> The state park where I shot these photos is much the same.  They have rules posted EVERYWHERE, and most anything you would normally do in a state park is forbidden here.  No running on the paths, no pets on the paths (there is a paved road through the middle and that's the only place running, bicycles, or pets is allowed), no swimming, no fishing, do not get off the paths, no musical instruments, no weddings (yeah, they really did post the last two), no picnicking, no picking the flowers, no feeding the birds.  The list goes on and on and on, and that's why I really dislike going there.  The reason I do go there is that it's close to home and there are always birds and deer to photograph.



The reason there are always birds and deer around is _because_ of the rules. Well, except for the instruments and weddings ones, those are just weird. But you're not allowed to pick flowers or mess with the resident critters in any state or national park. Many of the stricter ones with lots of traffic, like Yellowstone, you will most definitely earn a ranger lecture for going off the marked paths (unless you get a permit). You aren't supposed to take rocks or seashells either (although around here, the seashell thing is pretty much ignored). The rules have been standard for at least a couple of decades now.


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## SCraig (Jan 21, 2013)

Sarmad said:


> Right :thumbsup:.
> That lens must be huge.



Details of it are Here.  It is 94.7mm in diameter, 252mm long, and weighs 1910 grams.  The lens hood adds another 75mm or so to the length.


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## Ashlee_Duh (Jan 21, 2013)

I honestly never paid attention to the look of a turkey before. I always just see them at the dinner table haha. They are really interesting looking creatures. The feathers are what I'm most drawn to. Nice shots! Like others have mentioned the sharpness looks amazing.


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## runnah (Jan 21, 2013)

I get flocks of them in my yard. Tried taking photos but they are super skittish. They do like to crap everywhere.


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## AmberLynneParker (Jan 21, 2013)

I think Turkeys are beautiful. I'm a nature freak, though. I love the first picture you took. The feathers almost look like they're made of metal.


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## SCraig (Jan 21, 2013)

flow said:


> The reason there are always birds and deer around is _because_ of the rules. Well, except for the instruments and weddings ones, those are just weird. But you're not allowed to pick flowers or mess with the resident critters in any state or national park. Many of the stricter ones with lots of traffic, like Yellowstone, you will most definitely earn a ranger lecture for going off the marked paths (unless you get a permit). You aren't supposed to take rocks or seashells either (although around here, the seashell thing is pretty much ignored). The rules have been standard for at least a couple of decades now.


The birds and deer were there long before it was a state park.  The area used to belong to a railroad and was used as a water reservoir for steam engines at a rail yard a few miles away.  Once steam engines started to die off it was converted to a hunting preserve for the railroad executives.  Hunting was stopped in 1923 and the area became a nature preserve, but still owned by the railroad.  They sold it to a developer in 1962 who wanted to put in a subdivision but was unable to get all of the necessary permits due to public pressure.  It was purchased by the state in 1973 and became Tennessee's first official state natural area.  Yes, I did have to Google all of that 

The thing that annoys me about the never-ending rules is that regardless of what anyone says to the contrary that area is absolutely no different in any way whatsoever from the land surrounding it, however they like to pretend it is a "Fragile Forest" (signs are up that state exactly that).  There are no plants or anything else on one side of the boundary fence that aren't also on the other side yet they pretend that everyone walking around there is about to damage something that is present nowhere else in the world and on the verge of extinction.

And, yes, I am well aware that all of the state and national parks are much the same.  I collect National Park Passport stamps and at last count have collected 169 of them.  I've visited national and state parks from St. Augustine, FL to Santa Monica, CA and most of the states in between (25, I think. The link above is to my site and lists all the stamps I've collected).  I even understand the reasoning behind most of them, however some of the rules here are absolutely ridiculous.


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## SCraig (Jan 21, 2013)

Ashlee_Duh said:


> I honestly never paid attention to the look of a turkey before. I always just see them at the dinner table haha. They are really interesting looking creatures. The feathers are what I'm most drawn to. Nice shots! Like others have mentioned the sharpness looks amazing.



Thanks, glad you like them.  I had never paid them much attention either until I started getting interested in bird photography.  Now I go out and look for things like them


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## SCraig (Jan 21, 2013)

runnah said:


> I get flocks of them in my yard. Tried taking photos but they are super skittish. They do like to crap everywhere.



Lord, I hope the park people don't find that out!  They would try to fine them for crapping all over the park.

They are normally very skittish.  These are virtually tame though.


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## MSnowy (Jan 21, 2013)

Yup some ugly birds. Nice set of shots. We have wild turkeys all over the place around here. Not hard to get close to them at all. I also shoot with the Sigma 150-500mm lens. Very nice lens easy to hand hold and great for the price.


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## SCraig (Jan 21, 2013)

AmberLynneParker said:


> I think Turkeys are beautiful. I'm a nature freak, though. I love the first picture you took. The feathers almost look like they're made of metal.



I hadn't noticed that but you're right.  The feathers to have a metallic sheen to them.  Thanks for pointing it out, that is pretty cool


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## SCraig (Jan 21, 2013)

MSnowy said:


> Yup some ugly birds. Nice set of shots. We have wild turkeys all over the place around here. Not hard to get close to them at all. I also shoot with the Sigma 150-500mm lens. Very nice lens easy to hand hold and great for the price.



I hear them all over the place around here, but don't see them that often.

I agree about the lens.  Dollar for dollar it's hard to beat, although Tamron has one that CostalConn gets excellent results from.  The tripod collar really makes it easy to hand-hold.  I really like mine, and if I had to get another one I wouldn't hesitate.


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