Artkansas 

Earlier this month, when riding my Giant Stilleto chopper home from the local holiday parade I came across a large flock of geese who were harassing traffic. A goose can be mean, and there were about 50 of them on the road and on the grass next to it.

I was apprehensive as I approached because they were harassing a car that passed. But I guess that my bright red chopper, with the big yellow and black sign on the forks announcing the Bicycle Advocacy of Central Arkansas and a bearded fellow with a Santa hat on his helmet was too bizarre for them to figure out. I gave them a little room, but they made no attempt to harry me as I passed a few feet from the lead birds.

Roody

The hunters always say they're clever, and the hardest game to get. I don't understand this, since they usually just stand and cluck at you when you see them. How hard could it be to shoot one?

CCrew

Oh yeah. Got accosted more than a few times by moms with babies on the C&O canal this year.

Guinea Hens are among the worst tho. It's still funny to see a grown man get chased by a bird no matter what the bird

-Roger

huhenio

You are riding too slow.

huhenio

I will find out as soon as i see one.

sknhgy 

.22

huhenio

Hollow point?

gonzohill

Carry a stick about 18 inches long aim at the lead turkey.
Throw throw the stick side arm.
After you hit it run over grab it by the neck and break it.
Take it home and cook for dinner.

Someone has probably been feeding them.

Schwinnsta

Just keep drinking them and they'll come for you. A few is not enough.

jcm

Far from funny, this brings back some extremely unpleasant memories of a couple years ago. I say, far from funny because that term is just too weak to describe gut-busting the hilarity as I envision it. Turkeys, like all wild animals, probably lose some respect for humans as they become more accustomed to our presence. The males have some fairly nasty spurs as well.

For those who might remember this thread from me - about wild birds - here it is again. For those who would like some prespective on what a true Alfred Hitchcock Moment really is, please enjoy, because it didn't happen to you...

Oh, and to the OP, I recommend getting two of those gag-shop rubber chickens. Hang one from each bar grip like streamers. That'll give 'em pause.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...9;t+feed+swans

Squall

Wow turkey.. Now Im hungry!

buzzman

I've heard that too. I've never been a hunter but I fish and thought turkeys looked like they might be a decent step up from fishing to hunting. When I asked locals about hunting them they gave me a kind of "good luck" look. They all said it's a lot harder than it looks. I have no idea why. Granted I was thinking I would hunt them with a bow and arrow or crossbow.

JoeyBike

OK...

This:



Then this:

poopisnotfood

That is a funny story.

poopisnotfood

Turkey's are smart. Where we typically run into them where they are comfortable it is illegal to hunt them. Meaning urbanish setting, homes around, not a place you would hang out with your bow or shotgun. Get out in the country where you can hunt them and they are peckish (pun intended) and overly cautious. Geese are the same way, there are areas where geese will walk right up to you, but out where you can hunt them they are cautious.

Zero_Enigma

Ahh.. yes. Hehe... THE PLAY!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptLD0...e=channel_page

Muhahahaha!!!!

Squall

Oh men, that made me hungrier.. Christmas day is almost here, and Im drooling all over with that food

Neurodoc

I was recently assaulted by a Canada goose, so I Feel Your Pain.

The advice I got was either to...

- slow down, which is no fun

- scream bloody murder at them, which I certainly will try.

Peace, and good luck running down your Christmas dinner.

buzzman

that makes sense. My house is surrounded by 18,000 acres of forest and the turkeys are bolder near the house than when I encounter them in the forest on my MTB. Also, the deer conceal fawns in the bittersweet patch near my house, real close to the house. During hunting season the bears and much of the wildlife congregate in a large section of the forest that surrounds a reservoir where hunting is prohibited. I'm an amateur tracker and am always amazed at the migration to that area that happens just as the hunting gets going.

It's just that turkeys look so stupid it just seems hard to believe they've got our number.

nashcommguy

This has NEVER failed to work for me re 'wild' animals. Domestic dogs have been a different story I wont go into here. I had a small herd of deer...two does and a buck, cross in front of me while riding once and at the edge of the woods the buck decided to turn. VERY scarey as it was 'rut' season. I hit him w/an airhorn blast and he stopped in his tracks. It was enough for me to get away, but he couldv'e caught me in about 3 seconds if he'd wanted. I think the sound is SO loud that it just confuses them. Skunks, raccoons, even a bobcat once...Man, that was REALLY scarey, but he just took off running the other way.

BTW, obviously there's a nesting area nearby re your situation. Talk w/local wildlife management people to get some coping strategies. And it IS, but isn't funny.

fuzz2050

Damn, I'm glad I'm not the only one. I had a wild turkey charge me when I was off roading. I got so freaked out by it that I lost my line and went off the path. I busted my wheel and had to pick up my bike and run away from it. When I got back to civilization everyone just assumed I was crazy...

Now I have a witness though, the turkeys are out to get us...

jcm

The longer I live, the more puzzled I am that people consider certain animals "smart" while others are thought of as somehow "stupid." The more I observe, the more I am convinced that there is a certain level of reasoning power in most of the creatures above shellfish. Even trout and bass will act out in certain ways if given stimulation designed to ellicit "out of the ordinary behaviors." Just go diving in Hanama Bay on Oahu. The fish are so accustomed to humans that they will actually preen your arm hairs, begging for food. Certain species will even sort of guard you from bigger fish by gang tackling the intruder.

There's no stupid birds, I'm sure. They've been around for at least 65 million years in their present form - much longer than that if you add in the eons before they were able to fly. Just study parrots or corvids (ravens, crows, Stellar jays, etc). They are ranked among the most clever and intelligent species on earth. I don't think geese or turkeys are much different.

The swan that nailed me knew exactly when to strike - right when I turned my head to check for an escape route.

recumelectric

Yeah, I've never dealt with turkeys, but I fear the geese around here. Those suckers are mean.

But alas, many of us ride to get in touch with the great outdoors, and being chased by wild animals will certainly instill a sense of respect for nature that few noncyclists could understand.

recumelectric

Oh man. Those birds are truly wicked. They'll fly at your face, grab your head in their feet, hold on and start biting. Just be glad if you're not riding in one of their habitats.

buzzman

I read that swan story and split a gut. I was once snorkeling in the ocean off of Newport RI and saw a few swans about 1/4 mile off the shore and decided to swim out and "join" them- what an idiot I was! I got about 25' from them and took a good breath so I could go under water and come up in the midst of them. As I surfaced I'll never forget seeing a swan poke his beak into the water at lightening speed and "punch" me in the face like Muhammed Ali. Fortunately, my face mask took the brunt of it but I'd been walloped pretty hard and was disoriented. I got another good breath and got out of there as quick as I could. If not for the face mask and fins they'd have beaten the crap out of me and drowned me.

You're right. Even if we use the expression "bird brained" it's not terribly accurate- they're no fools.