Best Bird Film Ever: ‘My Life As a Turkey’
Joe and one of his birds (PBS.org photo).
Did you happen to catch this movie on PBS? If not, you can probably still DVR/TiVo it, or you can watch it below. Definitely do it. Amazing stuff.
Jay watched it the other night after his kids told him to, here’s what he said about it:
Honestly, it was incredible – meaning whatever I was expecting, it wasn’t that. Totally surprised me.
A few things stood out for me. One was how turkeys hunt for bugs in a field, just like we drive or push for pheasants and grouse. Makes total sense now that I’ve seen it, but I never considered it before. The raptors [dinosaurs] didn’t die out – they’re turkeys!
Another thing was how the guy [Joe Hutto, who raised the turkeys to be wild] was allowed into a part of the natural world in the forest because he was with the turkeys. That, the turkey language and how turkeys explored dead animals and cut trees like you see on elephant documentaries was…weird. Makes me wonder how much we have no clue about in nature.
It made me want to see one of these movies about our favorite gamebirds.
A hopper drive (PBS.org photo).
Look past the touchy-feely filming, especially at the beginning. Fascinating stuff…and just in time for Thanksgiving….
Watch My Life as a Turkey on PBS. See more from NATURE.
> More here at the PBS website.
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