Cleaning A Wild Turkey

Miami County offers plenty of birdwatching experiences

June in Miami County is a great time to enjoy the outdoors.

Although the weather has been a little warm, this month has been relatively dry, and the late afternoons and early mornings have been pleasant.

Bird-watching this time of year is especially fruitful. Mark Gray of Louisburg reported that he has had a Eurasian collared dove visiting his feeder. This species is colonizing throughout North America. They do not survive well in the wild, but do well in the suburbs, where there are fewer predators.

This dove is larger than the standard mourning doves and can be mistaken for ring-necked doves or small pigeons. They have a long and square-to-rounded tail and a black collar on the back of their neck. I have only seen one of these larger dove species in the past few years, and they are reported to be making their way into our area.

The local birds at the feeders are numerous, and many are nesting nearby. It is truly amazing to see the variety of birds and critters that visit us. The cardinals, squirrels, doves, blackbirds, chickadees and an occasional raccoon all jockey for position to feed at the best feeder.

Last Monday, a large hen turkey showed up in our freshly planted soybean field about midday. This hen had a small group of very young chicks in tow. They were not more than a few weeks old. It was exciting to watch them scurrying around, eating bugs in the grass. The cold wet spring may have forced many wild hen turkeys to nest later than normal, but the current weather conditions should be good for their survival.

While out in the field, we have noticed more and more quail crossing the roads and calling near the hayfields. It has been a long time since the quail populations were numerous enough to form the large coveys we experienced in the past. I am hopeful quail populations in Miami County will rebound to their glory days, and someday in the future, we may get back into the fields to hunt with our pointers and retrievers.

If you have a pond or wet ditch close by, you may be treated to the activities of the red-winged blackbird. We witness many during our fishing outings, and they are always fun to watch. It seems that they can be very territorial, and they are constantly chasing each other away from their designated areas.

One afternoon, while on a walk with my wife, we happened by a red-tail hawk perched in a dead tree along the gravel road.

Cleaning Your Wild Turkey - Merriam's Turkey Hunting

If you're a turkey hunter, you're used to making decisions. And, after choosing the right turkey loads, camouflage, decoys and calls before entering the spring woods, it's a relief when the final decision of the hunt is how to care for and cook your bird. Cleaning your turkey is the first step, and regardless of whether you plan to skin, pluck or breast out and cut up your bird, doing it properly is both quick and easy. Just follow these simple steps. Considered the traditional style of cleaning a wild turkey, plucking is a perfect way to prepare your bird to be roasted, smoked or whole deep-fried. Before you remove the entrails or field dress the turkey pluck the turkey's feathers to help keep the moisture in the turkey while cooking it whole. Remove the feathers after dipping the bird in hot water. Some people use boiling water but it has been said that 140-degree water is optimal for plucking a bird. Plucking does take time and produces more of a mess than does skinning; however, the taste of deep-fried or roasted turkey skin is worth the effort. Many of today's turkey hunters prefer skinning to plucking. Skinning a turkey allows you to cook the bird by frying or grilling the pieces of meat. You can skin and fillet the turkey breasts, and slice as much meat from the legs and wings as necessary. Make a cut just along one side of the breastbone. Then, it's just a matter of working the skin off the breast halves, down the back and over each of the legs. In some states it's illegal to only fillet the breast out, leaving the rest of the carcass behind. Always check your state's hunt regulations, and make sure your turkey is properly tagged for transportation. In hot weather hunting conditions, field dressing your bird is a good idea before you clean it for the table. If you decide to field dress your bird, start by placing the turkey on its back. Find the bottom of the breast plate and insert your knife, making a cut to the anal vent. Remove the entrails from this opening and then reach into the cavity to sever the windpipe, heart and lungs. Cool the cavity by placing ice inside the chest.

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