WILDLIFE WATCHING -- A reader called in November and asked if the wild turkey mating season had started.

Another reader called last week and said she had a wild turkey all fanned out in her yard.

Do turkeys mate year round? they asked. 

No.  But a gobbler would do a little strutting anytime.

After I sent a photo showing a fanned out gobbler in November, Mick Cope, small game manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife offered this explanation about the games gobblers play.

"Birds will try to keep their social structure (i.e., dominance) in line throughout the season," he said.

If a hen comes near a group of toms, that could trigger posturing, he said.

But gobblers won't have to fake it much longer.  Toms will start strutting and gobbling for the real deal starting in March.

Spring gobbler general hunting seasons in North Idaho and Eastern Washington open April 15.