Monty 2008-2014

Monty, the last turkey captured in La Conner, has died of a gunshot.

The exact year Monty was born is a guess, as he was one of La Conner’s infamous “Town Turkeys,” until they were rounded up and taken to safe sanctuaries in 2011.

Monty was adopted by Bob and Marci Plank in 2011 and was originally held in an enclosed pen. About a year later, we came home to find another pair of turkeys in Monty’s pen. What a surprise for Monty and us!

John LeSourd had adopted a pair of La Conner “Town Turkeys” but thought Monty would enjoy being reunited with his old pals.

So now we had three turkeys, two beautiful toms and one hen. Meanwhile the feed store had a lonely Heritage breed hen and asked if we could take her; that brought us up to four.

We finally allowed them all to roam free over our three acres off Best Road and roost up in the tall firs at night.

In the summer of 2013, the other male and his hen wandered up to Pleasant Ridge, never to be seen again.

Monty’s partner had her babies up on Pleasant Ridge, and one hen survived. We were back to three turkeys, and Monty couldn’t have been happier to have two hens all to himself.

Monty’s favorite occupation was standing in front of a large mirror, all puffed up with tail feathers fanned, trying to impress the male in front of him with his show of superiority. His favorite treats were blueberries, sunflower seeds and grapes.

This spring, both of the hens wandered up to Pleasant Ridge to lay their eggs and start their broods.

Monty called to them from down below morning and night, always hoping for a reply to his gobble.

Finally on May 18, he couldn’t stand the silence any longer, so he walked the long road up to Pleasant Ridge to visit his girls and check in on them.

Monty never returned home.

Just like the “Town Turkeys,” the original one increased to three, and it was inevitable that the hens probably would return with one or more babies. We loved Monty, but as the flock grew, they started to become a nuisance, and the neighbors were not as enamored as we were.

Monty was named after my father Monte Lewis and was immortalized by collage artist Maggie Mason in a piece of art that we will treasure for years to come.

We will miss Monty’s display of beauty, his antics and playfulness.