Strange reaction to baby wild turkeys. Happen to you?

[Happy_hunter]

Crazy stuff ahead be warned

So I was out walking through the woods minding my own business. In my neck of the woods its common to see deer in your yard, the occasional black bear, turkey, etc. I'm not new to wildlife. (By the way 46 yrs old and outdoorsman all my life) THIS HAS NEVER EVER HAPPENED TO ME BEFORE.... As i was making my way up an old logging road, I spotted two hens (Wild turkey). No big deal, but I to stay and watch them for a bit. All of a sudden it felt as if the ground beneath my feet was moving. I lost my balance and fell down. I couldn't stand back up. I had severe motion sickness. Want to know why? Evidently those two hens I saw could have been larger and I only saw two. There were 100's of baby turkey chicks moving in a group to the safety of the dense brush. These chicks were exactly the same color as the ground cover. As these chicks moved, it was as if the ground was moving causing me to lose my balance and become motion sick. I don't know if this is an unknown defense mechanism or not, but I know I couldn't have caught/injured/killed/chased any of those birds. I was down! After they moved on, I regained my balance and thought to myself, "dam what an experience".... Has this ever happened to anyone else?

 

[dtrkyman]

Did you eat any wild mushrooms just prior? HAHA, just kidding but is quite the crazy story.

Good to hear there are that many baby turkeys around!

 

[Happy_hunter]

I'm sure 80% will be hawk/owl food.

 

[Biggie]

Never, but I'm always sober in the woods and tend to stick to mushrooms that I know are safe.

 

[pjh360]

I have walked into the middle of a brood of young turkey poults. Similar situation to yours - old logging road, saw the hen, then all of a sudden turkey poults started moving all around my feet! Never saw them until they started moving - but I didn't get dizzy or fall over!

 

[Bubblehide]

I strongly suggest you discuss this with your doctor, as this could be related to a medical diagnosis.

 

[journeyman713]

I wouldn't say doctor just yet.
More like, your mind playing tricks on you.
What you perceived as the ground (an unmovable object), appeared to move, it felt like you are the one moving. A vertigo sensation.

I had something similar happen when pulling into a parking spot once.

As I was pulling in slowly, checking clearance to the vehicle next to me, it seemed like I was going too fast, next thing I know, I'm standing on the brake, and still moving. So I thought.
The guy next to me started backing out. Had no idea, there was anyone in there.
In my mind that vehicle was stationary, and I was moving.

 

[Aaron-in-CO]

I just bumped into a hen with ~10 poults at about 3 yards last weekend for the first time. Really cool experience and those poults definitely blended in. A few ran towards me, and I had trouble seeing them just a couple feet away on an old two track. If there were actually hundreds of poults as you say, or even just a couple dozen, I could see that being a bit disorienting.

 

[Happy_hunter]

I wouldn't say doctor just yet.
More like, your mind playing tricks on you.
What you perceived as the ground (an unmovable object), appeared to move, it felt like you are the one moving. A vertigo sensation.

I had something similar happen when pulling into a parking spot once.

As I was pulling in slowly, checking clearance to the vehicle next to me, it seemed like I was going too fast, next thing I know, I'm standing on the brake, and still moving. So I thought.
The guy next to me started backing out. Had no idea, there was anyone in there.
In my mind that vehicle was stationary, and I was moving.

-- I was at work, standard shift tacoma... I pulled into my parking spot just as someone was pulling out. I definatly felt like I was rolling backwards, so I stomped on the brakes, (I felt like I was still rolling), then looked at the ground and all was good... ah.. just my mate leaving...