February 20, 2012 Grand Vue long hike

Two days ago I hiked, hung my repaired bird house, and observed much spring like behavior in birds. So I blocked in some time for Monday beginning at 9:30.I took a long hike on this Presidents Day. It was a bright sunny day and temperatures in the high 40s, maybe even 50s. My extended hike lasted more than 4 hours this time as I went off trail and off the banquet hall ridge ending up all the way down by Sun Valley. There is a stream there at the base of the ravine, a very steep one at that. I followed the stream and varying elevations around the back side of the ridge. First, I noted bluebirds which are a constant at Grand Vue now. As I walked the rough hillside many birds were active. Infact they were singing and making every effort to bring Spring on at a rapid pace. Pileated, Downy, Hairy, RB Woodpeckers, WB Nuthatches, song sparrows, Cardinals, Carolina Wrens, Titmice, all reacted to the audio from my ipad. I hoped to see Kinglets again but did not. The best birds today were the Turkeys. I was well above them about half way up the hillside when I spooked a bunch of Turkeys. They were probably 100 yards away. My first reaction to their burst into the trees was, "Wow thats a lot of birds". Even in the trees they were still below me. They echoed through the ravine. I guessed 30 or 40 at the time but second guessed myself on that number. I sat and observed them in the trees. Through binoculars I counted nearly 20 birds. I watched them make their calls and one by one return to the ground. I advanced and the Turkeys remained behind, so I thought. At one point I sat and called in the pileated and other woodpeckers as well as a carolina wren. The turkeys moved up the ridgeline and were maybe 30 or 40 yards below me moving up from behind rocks and logs. I simply sat and watched 55 birds go by pretty much in single file. Impressive birds and an impressive sight. Maybe this will be a good year for Turkeys.
The bluebirds were plentiful. When I returned to the top of the ridge near the banquet hall I watched 6 or 7 birds at a time. The males already in bight colors and the audio from the ipad made them very active. I think there are more bluebirds than ever. I wonder how many fledged from my boxes.