Blackbird vs. the Turkey

I had my first animal attack! I was hiking up a huge mountain and was already really tired, when I rounded a corner and came across a wild turkey and her babies. I don't know the proper name for a baby turkey. Since she didn't have time to round the kids up and get them safely into the woods, she decided the next best plan was to attack. If you've never seen a wild turkey, let me tell you that they are not the cute, fat little things that we trace our hands to make for 2nd grade art projects. They are 3 ft tall, huge, ugly, and have talons the size of an adolescent's hands. At first, I wasn't worried when the turkey started jumping in the air and clawing in my direction. I had my hiking poles to keep her from getting too close and I assumed that she was only trying to get me to back up. It was when I backed up and she continued her attack that I began to worry. I couldn't seem to get far enough away to calm her down and she was getting crazier by the minute. Finally, I started running down the trail that I had just come up (yes, I ran from a turkey) but she ran through the brush and cut me off on the trail a few feet ahead. At that point, I was afraid. She was blocking my only escape and continued to jump in the air, hovering above my head with back feet clawing at the air. I knew that a peaceful departure was not going to be an option anymore and I didn't want to have to beat a turkey to death with my hiking poles. I would have been traumatized for life. So I decided to act as crazy as she was. I started screaming and beating my hiking poles on every tree I could reach. I guess she decided I had a lot more issues than she did and she retreated up the mountain, calling out to the kids. Blackbird 1, Turkey 0.