It is spring here in New Zealand and the Turkeys have returned to our homestead.
In winter they go somewhere- I am not sure where exactly but they are not seen on our land.
In spring they come back in large groups of up to 40 birds and start looking for nest sites.

This year we have been finding several of the nests and harvesting the eggs.
If we don't take them others like the possums, wild cats, stoats and hawks do.
There are already a lot of broken eggs around the place...often suggesting a nest site is nearby.

This morning had fried Turkey eggs with bacon and salad.
Surprised the eggs taste very similar to ordinary chicken eggs, but about double the size and a bit creamier.
Last year there was a bumper crop of chics and so there are more of the birds than ever before.

Perhaps over 100 in total and they are struggling to find enough nesting sites as most of the land is cultivated and grazed but there are hedgerow strips like along the boundary of our property and the neighbour where they can find places for nesting.

So far have found 4 nests and got 13 eggs and the season has just started.

Last summer I caught and ate one of that springs hatchlings. It was about the size of a medium factory farmed chicken but with firmer tastier meat.
Hoping to scale up the capture and consumption of them this year.
It took several hours to pluck and dress that first one but should get faster with practice.
Have a 15 litre stainless steel preserving pan but probably need something even bigger for scalding the full size Turkeys.