The sky was pitch black and only the stars provided light for two boys and two men leading a Thanksgiving hunt to find an elusive turkey. Harvesting a turkey isn’t easy when trying to catch them in the wild. Besides having the ability to fly, turkeys have excellent sight with the ability to turn their heads in a 360-degree field of motion, according to the book The Wild Turkey: Biology and Management by James G. Dickson. Hunting guide Parrey Cremeans and California Deer Association president Donn Walgamuth instructed 12-year-old Jayden Oakes and his 10-year-old brother Jordan Oakes how to hide from the birds using their green and brown camouflage patterned clothes. It was the Oakes’ brothers first turkey hunting trip. Cremeans, Walgamuth, Jayden and Jordan sat completely still under pine and oak trees for over an hour. Toes got numb and joints grew restless with the temperature reaching 32 degrees to start the morning. The group waited and waited as the stars slowly faded from the sky, replaced by glimmers of sunlight across the brush and muddy hills. Cremeans used a turkey calling instrument to lure the birds into a potential trap. Cremeans and Walgamuth helped the boys safely load the 12-gauge shotguns, but the turkeys never came. It was time to switch locations and find a better vantage point. “We saw about 50 or 60 turkeys and we tried to call ’em in and they weren’t cooperating,” Cremeans said. “So, we had to hunt them.” After hiking the muddy and rocky terrain, Walgamuth spotted a flock from a hill that looked down below into a nearby creek. Walgamuth and Jayden crept quietly down the hill and set their shot near a tree.  [full article]