Wild Tennessee "Ghost Turkey" UPDATED...!

[Limitool]

Howdy all.... I did a post about 2-3 years ago telling you about some wild turkeys in my front yard. One of them was white and I couldn't get to a camera in time to get a pic. Well I looked up on Goggle to see if anyone else had seen any. Sure enough there called "ghost turkeys" and are very rare it says.

"Yes, wild white turkeys, which are actually leucistic, are rare, with estimates suggesting only one in several thousand or even one in 100,000 wild turkeys exhibit this condition."

So this afternoon my girlfriends walks by the window and yells at me to come see all the turkeys.... "We got more today then yesterday...!" she says. Then she says..."Brad, that white one is back...!" Well that got me off my ass to see. Sure enough there was a white one and this time it was only about 60-70 ft. from window. There was a flock of 24 with two big toms all fanned out and getting ready to rumble. But we both were watching the white one. She took some pics but they were blurry so I tried with my phone. Mine are posted. There not real good because of fighting a dirty window and full sun but at least I got a few. The hens body was all white while some of the tail feathers had some brown coloring. We watched her and the others while they devoured the corn I had put out everyday. Then the 2 toms were chest to chest and one jumped straight up and attacked. The other one ran while being chased and followed for about 10 more minutes. All the turkeys walked off into the woods with the "ghost hen" bringing up the rear for some reason. I guess somebody has to be last...? We'll probably never see her again. I read 95% of ghost turkeys are hens and few reach adulthood.

 

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[robertk]

That is so cool! I've never seen one (and given the odds, probably never will). Thanks for posting!

 

[russau]

You were in the right place at the right time for seeing this rare bird & you got several shots of it! Good show !

 

[Limitool]

That is so cool! I've never seen one (and given the odds, probably never will). Thanks for posting!

Well you have a lot of them also guy.... so maybe but if I was betting on seeing one ya better make it a small bet. I never in my life thought I'd ever see another one. Maybe it's the same one possibly as it too was a hen. Who knows....? But 95% are hens.

 

[ArfieBoy]

Nice pictures! Congratulations!

 

[Limitool]

We were sitting around here this morning and noticed 1 turkey coming out of the woods. Then a big flock entered the yard and made a beeline for the corn. Then the white turkey came out again. I got some more pics and will post after our breakfast. I'm beginning to think the white "ghost" I saw 2-3 years ago is the same one here. What are the odds of it being another one....? But seeing it 2 days in a row is just so cool.

30 total this time around with 3 toms all fanned out. You ain't got them all robertK...!!!

 

[Flashinon]

I have never seen a white turkey before and there are flocks of them around here you see from time to time so they have to be even more rare than other albino type animals. If you see one though it's not too surprising you see another nearby, it could be extremely rare but be at least more common in the local area's turkey population specifically.

 

[Limitool]

Here's some pics from this morning. With 1-100,000 ratio its got to be the same one as yesterday. If I wasn't feeding them I'd probably never have saw it. What's really cool (like robertK) is when the deer and turkeys are all feeding together. But throw in a white ghost turkey and that takes it to another level...!

 

[robertk]

30 total this time around with 3 toms all fanned out. You ain't got them all robertK...!!!

That’s awesome! That’s a big flock, too! Our flock has just 16 hens (or maybe some young Tom’s) and 6 mature Tom’s.

 

[pepperj]

That's really cool having one hanging out at your place.
Great that you got a photo this time around.

 

[Oregon Viking]

Possibly an escaped domesticated bird?

Broad Breasted White turkey - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Oregon Viking]

White Holland: This is a heritage breed known for its bright white feathers, and it was used to develop the common broad-breasted white turkey used in farming.

Broad-Breasted White: This is the most widely used breed of domesticated turkey for commercial meat production, and it's known for its large size and white feathers, which make pin feathers less visible.

 

[Limitool]

White Holland: This is a heritage breed known for its bright white feathers, and it was used to develop the common broad-breasted white turkey used in farming.

Broad-Breasted White: This is the most widely used breed of domesticated turkey for commercial meat production, and it's known for its large size and white feathers, which make pin feathers less visible.

I honestly don't think so O.V. It's body is all white but the tail and wing tip feathers appear normal or almost normal. But I guess we'll never know for sure. I'm certainly not an expert on turkeys. Hopefully it will come back to eat with the flock again and I can get another chance at a better pic.

 

[Limitool]

Here's some pics from this morning. With 1-100,000 ratio its got to be the same one as yesterday. If I wasn't feeding them I'd probably never have saw it. What's really cool (like robertK) is when the deer and turkeys are all feeding together. But throw in a white ghost turkey and that takes it to another level...!

Yesterday I went to town. On the way back up to my ridgetop home I saw a flock of turkeys crossing the road about 50-60 yards ahead of me. I stopped right there to watch them. And bringing up the rear the white "ghost turkey" ran across the road into the woods toward my home. I pulled up into drive, parked and waited for about 1/2 hr to see the flock come to the corn I put out. But they never arrived or I missed them later. But this is the 4th spotting of this bird. Obviously this bird and flock stay close to my home.

 

[pepperj]

Last year while raising the white domestic turkeys. The wild ones would hang out all around their enclosed area. 250' x 100'
The Tom's would start strutting, heads turning blue, all feathered out.
I can't see where a domestic couldn't breed a wild hen.
Domestic has white meat, wild is dark meat.
It would be interesting if this was the case.
(Not suggesting that you roast it up)😁

 

[Gare]

Great pictures Limittool