[Grant]

There was a time when turkey sightings were relatively rare, and the birds you saw spooked quite quickly. These days, however, we see them regularly around Tuftonboro, and they aren't so quick to flee. There's been a growing family in the Twentymile Bay area for a few years now.

Down here in SE PA, we have loads of them as well -- in suburban settings. There's one notable "flock" of 20-30 birds that I've seen a few times a week during my commute for the past five or six years.

Years ago, ring-neck pheasants were abundant here. Our home was surrounded by farmland, and the suckers were everywhere -- to the point of being more common roadkill than rabbits, groundhogs, squirrels, possum or deer. Today, they're gone. Completely. Point is, I suppose many of these species are cyclical and subject to a variety of influences. I'm glad to see turkeys on the upswing (along with our friends the Bald Eagles).

Now -- can we do something to put Canada Geese on the downswing??? Their presence at the Lake in recent years has me very concerned. If you could see what they've done to various bodies of water down here, you'd understand. They need to be controlled (read: exterminated in large numbers).

But I digress...