The turkeys are back

Lia Chasen, with friend Sandra Pak, feeding the wild turkeys

Lia Chasen, with friend Sandra Pak, feeding the wild turkeys

Having never seen a wild turkey on Long Island for my whole life, I’ve now seen them three times in a month. Today they visited again and this time they brought their friends (or relatives). Today’s visit included a rafter of nine turkeys. (How do you like the term “rafter of turkeys”? Had to look that one up online to find the proper term.) Two of the eight were probably the alpha males. They were much bigger and had their tail feathers open. They seemed to be in charge and protective of the others. Two of the turkeys flew up to drink from the bird bath. Did you know that turkeys can fly? Well, not very far, according to my research. Basically they just fly up into trees.

The alpha male turkeys

The alpha male turkeys

Long Island’s wild turkeys are quite tame. So many people feed them that they’re practically domesticated. We had a hunt on Long Island a few weeks ago, but that was farther out on Long Island in Suffolk County. Hunters had to get licenses and were permitted only one turkey per permit. Very few turkeys were caught during the five day hunt. They haven’t yet learned to fear humans, so hunting them shouldn’t have been that difficult. I guess the problem was locating them, as there aren’t that many yet — approximately 3000 on all of Long Island, and Long Island is very big.

A couple of the turkey hens drinking from the bird bath

A couple of the turkey hens drinking from the bird bath

It’s fun to get a visit from the local turkeys, as long as they leave soon, and they usually do. A rafter of nine turkeys can leave quite a bit of poop. Just ignore them and stop feeding them — that seems to do the trick. At least they’re not as bad as geese (and we have lots and lots of geese on Long Island). Once they decide they like your property, it’s very difficult to get rid of them.

I’m taking a lot of time to add new items to my website. I’ve already listed new items under Gallé glass (including a blownout vase), Daum Nancy glass and Tiffany Studios glass. Soon I’ll be adding many Tiffany Studios desk pieces. Many are priced right for great holiday gift-giving. Who wouldn’t like to receive a genuine Tiffany desk set accessory as a Christmas or Chanukah gift? I’ll soon be starting a big sale on Icart etchings. Please take a look, as every day I’m adding more. Click on this link chasenantiques.com.

Please send me your suggestions or questions about art glass, lamps, Louis Icart, shows, auctions, etc. If it’s interesting, I’ll answer your question in a future blog entry.

Call or write and let me know what you would like to buy, sell, or trade. philchasen@gmail.com or 516-922-2090. And please visit my website. chasenantiques.com

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