[EBB Sightings] Turkeys in the canyon

Mr. Bit:
I have seen them (turkeys in Wildcat Canyon) before. I found one of 
their wintering spots. I hiked on Christmas Eve day last year and found 
them in a likely location. Because we have a huge flock here at 
Rossmoor (100 or more), which I observe almost daily, I have noticed 
that they like to roost in the following conditions:

Relatively narrow and somewhat steep gulleys, heavily overgrown by low 
trees. It happens that the trees are usually live oaks and pepperwoods 
(Calif. bay laurel). I  believe this allows them to jump across to the 
other bank or even get up on horizontal tree branches to escape 
predators. During the day they venture out but return to this type of 
roost at night, I believe. The most I ever saw was in such a spot and 
included the "chicks" and many males, doing their display thing.

The flock I saw was in such a spot in the canyon. They were 
approximately 3/4 of a mile southeast of the oil well, almost directly 
below one of the highest, most conical peaks. There is a long 
northwesterly sloping (downward) creek with such a thicket of trees. It 
is so quiet out there that you can hear them before you see them.

North of this spot is what I call "squirrel-town" which has a 
phenomenal number of ground squirrels. Because of them, this is the 
best area for hawk-watching. The most obvious landmark there is the 
water tank which collects the spring water for the cattle's water 
trough. The oil well is northwest about 300 yards downhill from the 
trough, in case you are interested.

Lance Beeson