For the past several days on my way home from work, I’ve taken notice of three wild turkey hens walking alongside ever busy Highway 278. They don’t seem to mind the traffic, even though I do.

The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) became South Carolina’s official State Wild Game Bird in 1976. According to the National Wild Turkey Federation there are over 5 million Eastern Subspecies turkeys roaming our hardwood forests.