Wild Turkeys Invade the Suburbs

By Jim on November 20th, 2007

This seems to be becoming more and more frequent. I’d like to say I’ve done my part to thin their numbers but, alas, I still haven’t gotten one…yet. It’s great that we’re seeing so many of them though and that they’re so much of a success story. Now if I can just bag one with my bow someday…

I think people freaking out and being afraid of them is a bit silly. They’re turkeys not bears, they can’t do much more than try to peck somebody or flap their wings to intimidate you. They’re certainly cool looking critters but nothing to be afraid of if you run into them.

The Pilgrims found New England in the 1600s to be well stocked with wild turkeys, which figured into their regular diet, including the original Thanksgiving feast.

But by the 1930s the native birds had been hunted to near extinction in North America, numbering only in the tens of thousands.

Today, thanks to reintroduction efforts, there are about seven million wild turkeys, and they are thriving in an urban America that the early English settlers could not have imagined.

Wild turkeys have been spotted in towns and suburbs across New England—and have even been seen strolling through downtown Manhattan.

The turkeys’ ability to take to these urban environments was a surprise to biologists.

“When restoration efforts started across the country, the rule of thumb was that turkeys required about 6,000 acres [2,430 hectares] of contiguous forest habitat,” said Michael Gregonis, a wildlife biologist with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

(Related news: “Country Owls Better Suited to the Suburbs?” [October 19, 2007].)

“We found that not to be true at all. Turkeys are pretty adaptable. As long as they have some cover and some trees that they can get up into at night to roost, they can do pretty well.”