A little while ago I was fortunate enough to collect some jungle bird species in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.

This was a hot hunt (100 deg + temps) in the jungle. A lot of my blood, sweat, tears (from tick bites ) went into this hunt....crawling on all fours, walking on dry leaves (imagine what would sound like if you walked on potato chips)....really really great memories associated to this hunt....did I mention it was hot in the jungle

Some closeups of the bird.



Just received the bird from our Taxidermy shop. If you ever feel like going to hunt one for your trophy room just drop me a line.

Great mount! What a bird!

Wow. Beautiful!

Never knew such a beautuful turkey existed!

Speaking as an Englishman who's never even seen a wild turkey, I've always battled to understand the American fascination with turkey hunting.... that isn't a criticism at all it's just that it somehow puzzles me..... but seeing those pics makes even me want to get out there and hunt for them.

Also a stunningly beautiful mount!!

Hi Collector,
I saw one of these birds for the first time at my taxidermy shop about 2 weeks ago...I have zero interest in hunting birds especially turkeys, but after seeing the feathers at the taxidermist, and your mount, WOW is all I can say....

That has to be the most beautiful bird I've ever seen, and I want one!!!!!

The Merriam pales in comparison....good on ya...

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
Speaking as an Englishman who's never even seen a wild turkey, I've always battled to understand the American fascination with turkey hunting.... that isn't a criticism at all it's just that it somehow puzzles me..... but seeing those pics makes even me want to get out there and hunt for them.

Also a stunningly beautiful mount!!

Your right, it's hard to understand why they hunt turkey. But I can imagine that it is fun to hunt in the forests of yucatan.
I've visited Chichén Itzá a couple of years ago and i loved the forest.
I would love to see some pics of the jungle! Is there other game to hunt?

Thank you all...glad you liked the pics.


@shakari
So we do not understand Cricket...you do not understand Turkey hunting....now we are even

All joking aside what you are referring to is Wild Turkey which has 5 sub-species:
1) Eastern Turkey
2) Rio Grande Turkey
3) Merriam's Turkey
4) Gould's Turkey
5) Osceola Turkey (found only in the state of Florida)

In many states (such as Pennsylvania) Turkey is classified as "Big Game" along with White-tail Deer and not as a bird.

Americans love it because it is a trophy hunt. You go after one bird, a mature male, the bird is very very intelligent and it is hard to trick them. Many people are addicted to Turkey Hunting and it gets in your blood. At one point in time American History both Bald Eagle and the Wild Turkey were being considered as options for the national symbol...Bald Eagle won.

Ok so there are only two species of Turkey in the world. Wild Turkey which I just explained earlier with its 5 sub-species and then the second full species of Turkey is the Ocellated Turkey.

Ocellated Turkey is not a North American bird...it is more of a Central American bird. Ocellated Turkey does not gobble like the Wild Turkey...rather it has a song. Hunting methods are also quite different and you can hunt them in jungle (very exciting hunt...think Cameroon) or near the farmlands (think plainsgame in Eastern Cape).

@Oryxhunter1983
Ocellated turkey hunting takes place in Spring (Apr/May) let me know whenever you would like to go and I will give you the run down.

@Caracal
Yes...hunting in jungles of Yucatan is absolutely fantastic. The area we hunt in is a Jaguar preserve quarter million acres in size, if you are lucky you have a very good chance of seeing a Jaguar (early morning or evening) as well as Tapirs (which are really funky looking animals).

On the Ocellated Turkey hunt you can also hunt:
- Collared Peccary (kind of a small bush pig)
- Brocket Deer
- Coatimundi

Also some other trophy bird species which I will post in this forum as time permits.

You only get one permit per species. And you pay the trophy fees after you harvest the species/pull the trigger. I will dig out some pics of the hunt for you...stay tuned.

@Caracal

Here are some pics from the Yucatan hunt that you requested.

Making our way to a water hole in search of Ocellated Turkey. This was a 2 hour trek each way from the camp. Temp under the shade a bit over 100 deg F.



Scouts taking a break after a couple of hours of walking.



Clearing up some dead wood. This was on an old logging road used to access the rubber trees deep in the jungle. But it had not been used in a long time.



That time of the year...there were lots and lots of controlled burns.




Sunset.



Collared Peccary.



Brocket Deer.

Does the turkey mount not have a certain "Aztec look" to it? That was the first thing I thought. A hint of the Aztec culture and expressiveness. The colors and how they all fit together - I can see how images of this bird could be found (if they are) on ancient Indian temples or the like down there or how its coloraton could have been copied for other uses.

I don't know, maybe it's just me it struck that way. It's certainly very interesting and very beautiful.

Thanks Shack, glad you liked the mount.

BASE & HABITAT:
You must be a detective of sorts....I am impressed...really. Imagine if this bird was just sitting on a log...it would have been an ok mount but not a really good one. Base & Habitat really enhance the quality of presentation. In many cases good taxidermists will charge more for a base & habitat (yes, they are two different things that work as one) than the bird itself.

The area where we hunt is a bit far from Aztec culture but it is right in the middle of the ancient Mayan culture. You would be walking for hours and in the middle of nowhere amongst the trees you will see a ruin...old stones with plants protruding out of them. Check out this picture....the black "pipes" are burnt trees.



Up close you will see an integration of rock and plants...so this was the building block for this mount. Not totally unique as I am sure you have seen variations of it...but the textures and the colors and definitely Mayan...from the Yucatan.

Yes, Mayan. I almost said Incan, then remembered that's S. America, then guessed Aztec as being Mexican. But, you know what I was trying to say...it does have a certain something that seemingly fits..one look and you think "this is not just another bird from the Mississippi Delta".

Yes absolutely...you were right on !!!

quote:

Originally posted by collector:
@shakari
So we do not understand Cricket...you do not understand Turkey hunting....now we are even

That's actually a very good way of putting it!

This hunt has just gone on my bucket list BTW!

Stunning. Wonder what the population of jaguar and tapir is in the Yucatan?

That also looks like a very large brocket deer.
Many caiman or crocodiles?

quote:

Originally posted by SGraves155:
Stunning. Wonder what the population of jaguar and tapir is in the Yucatan?

That interests me, too. I would love to stalk both with my camera but don't know where/how to start.

Very cool, collector.....I really like the idea of some type of combo hunt down there.....one of these years.

Collector: a big thank you. I really enjoy your posts and the awesome pics that accompany your words. Keep it up, though, and I'm liable to book a bird hunt with you. Fair warning!

@SGraves155
Both species are endangered, the UMA (Hunting Concession) we hunt has:
- 5 Jaguars
- 8 Forest Cougars
- 20+ Tapirs (always around waterholes)
- Peccary (you see them in singles or small groups of 5)
- Coatimundi (usually in big groups)


@Norton
It is a fun hunt if you are willing to walk in 100 plus temps. Hard hunt for sure. Just a lot of walking involved.

@Kamo Gari
Very welcome sir. I enjoy your equally educating posts as well.

quote:

Originally posted by SGraves155:
Never knew such a beautuful turkey existed!

Same here!