I made this recording on opening morning here in New Mexico in 2015 and like to listen to it every year now before the season opens. I was able to get comfortably close to their roost and listen to them firing up before fly down. There are 3 different gobblers (two close, one more distant), a jake, and at least two hens on the recording, and a whole orchestra of other birds. Love listening to the forest wake up. For those that are used to hearing Eastern gobbles, you'll notice the Merriam's gobble is a bit different.
https://soundcloud.com/rapscallion_vermilion/openmorningmerriams2015 (https://soundcloud.com/rapscallion_vermilion/openmorningmerriams2015)
Good stuff, Mike. Heard a few of those this weekend preparing for the start. Nothing like a melodic Merriam's gobble in the high mountains!
Hoping to hear some of that next week . I'll be back in the Lincoln NF for opening week looking to see some white tips!
One more week...
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3 more weeks...................
That's awesome. I'm taking my 77 year old Dad to South Dakota in a few weeks to complete his Slam with a Merriams. Good luck this season.