Recent warmer weather and rains have melted much of the snow down, easing somewhat the troubles our wild turkeys have been having finding food.Above, you see a mature bird that was part of a group (a “rafter”) of turkeys that was foraging in turkey-accessible snow last week. Below, you’ll see one of the group’s immature turkeys trying to keep up.
When the ground is covered with snow, wild turkeys try to eat tree buds, conifer needles, dried berries, mosses, lichens, and seeds from weed stalks. They also rely on stored body fat, scratch through shallow snow for hidden acorns and nuts, and scavenge agricultural fields. Sometimes they lose a feather or two in the process:
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on March 6, 2026.)