Sax-Zim Bog at Sunrise: Courting Turkeys!

While people travel from all over the country to Sax-Zim Bog in the winter in hopes of seeing great grey owls, and other feathered friends from the frozen north, summer is also a great time to visit the bog. This blog post documents one of my favorite June birding excursion in the bog (map included).

Shortly after sunrise this morning I had a fantastic time watching some Tom Turkeys court and strut their stuff for a lone hen. She did not seem as impressed as I was with the gobbler’s courting displays! Eventually the group decided I was harmless, and I was able to slowly approach the lovefest!

After watching the turkeys try to improve their love life, the moment the sun popped out from behind the clouds, male bobolinks started singing in their attempts to attract a mate. The farm meadows and pastures at the corner of Overton and Arkola Road are a great place to watch birds. Park your car and sit for an hour. In addition to bobolinks, I saw a sandhill crane and multiple magpies while stopped.

You will find in this post:

  • Photos and two short videos of the courting turkeys
  • One photo and video of a bobolink singing to attract a mate
  • Summer Sax-Zim Bog birding map with annotations

I hope you enjoy these photos, videos, and find the map useful. It was a super fun outing.

Turkeys Gone a Courting!
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Turkey Courting Videos (24 and 46 seconds in duration)

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Wild Turkey Time on Overton Road
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Singing to the Sun … Bobolink Looking for a Mate
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23 Second Video: Singing for a Mate!

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June Sax-Zim Bog Birding Map
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