Turkey ducks are those ducks that sound like a soul in mortal torment 
when they cry out, and have the bright red patch over their beak?  (Grin.)  I 
think these guys must be cousins to the peacock whereas their cry is 
concerned.  The first time I heard it was right outside out house in the 
canal, and it made my hair stand on end.  Took me awhile to get used to some 
of the waterbird sounds down here.  Not to mention the occasional gator 
waffling in the distance.  
    The first year that our pygmy owls, a screech owl, showed up was after 
some fires on the other side of the lake.  They got burned out of their 
habitat, and they came to our neighborhood looking for a place to rest, lay 
their eggs, and raise their young.  We had an old palm tree with a woodpecker 
nest, abandoned, in it, and they took that over.  For the next three years 
they raised two chicks a year in that tree.  Finaly, though, the tree fell 
down, and they had to find another place to lay thier eggs.  Our house had 
rusting screens over the vents in the eaves, so they went up in there to 
build thier nest.  We could hear the babies up in there at night.  Then we 
had to have some work done on the house, and we had to tear out the nest.  
They've not been back here since, but they have taken over a palm tree in the 
neighbor's yard.  
    We've been proud to say that this is the one time when nature can get 
along with us.  We love to see them flying in the evening, and we know full 
well that they are helping to keep the mosquito population down.  Besides 
that they are just plain lovely.  One is a soft silvery gray, and the other 
is a deep golden color.  We're far enough off the beaten path out here that 
we don't have alot of traffic, and we don't have alot of kids hauling bb guns 
around to shoot the wildlife.  Besides that we have yards that are perfect 
for wildlife to move in every year, and we like to keep it that way.  
                                  Bright Blessings
                                  Kat
--- GEcho/32 1.20/Pro
---------------