Sometimes we have unexpected wildlife encounters – without leaving the house. We received this dispatch from neighbor Dzenita Mehic Saracevic:
It was just an ordinary Friday. I sipped my morning tea, gazing out the window when I caught a glimpse of movement near the shrubbery in my backyard. At first, it was hard to figure out the dark shape I noticed in the greenery, but when I focused my attention, a large silhouette of a turkey emerged.
I had to rub my eyes several times to make sure that my eyesight was OK. I was used to the usual cast of characters which frequented my backyard – squirrels, deer, fox, raccoons and all kinds of birds, but a turkey was an unexpected deviation from the norm. Had my husband decided to get us a live turkey in preparation for Thanksgiving?
It took a minute to realize that it could only be a wild turkey that probably took a stroll from the Rock Creek Park. I remembered reading a few years ago about some angry wild turkeys that liked to attack walkers. Happy to be inside the house, I quickly grabbed the camera, took a few photos, and then marveled at my unexpected guest, who was proudly strutting through the garden with an air of nonchalance, but keenly aware of its surroundings.
Sometimes I think my backyard is truly magical, just as the original owner of the house once said.
Wild turkeys do indeed get around. I saw three females this past week in Rock Creek Park. They ambled up a ridge, most likely foraging on nuts and seeds that were still around for the picking.
Another neighbor, Minsuh Son, spotted a pair enjoying the Soapstone trail in April 2022, shortly after the trail closed to human visitors.
According to the Cornell ornithology lab, wild turkeys prefer “open forests,” with moderately tall trees that let the light through, and “with interspersed clearings.” So it is no wonder that Rock Creek and surrounding yards are a hit with these birds.
We might also be seeing more of them because their population is rebounding. In the 1930s, the wild turkey count nationwide was as low as 30,000. By 1940, they were almost completely eradicated in Canada. But by 1973, their estimated population was 1.3 million. And since the 1980s, “trap and transfer” projects have brought the turkey back to Canada.
Similar programs have helped the birds make a comeback in the District, too. Perhaps you’ll even be lucky to see one take flight.
They may look awkward while walking, but wild turkeys are agile and fast fliers. (photo by Andy Reago and Chrissy McClarren via Wikimedia Commons)
But give them space. Male turkeys can be aggressive, as we saw in 2022 when a single bird terrorized walkers and cyclists on the Anacostia Riverwalk trail for weeks.
A male wild turkey (photo by Riki7 via Wikimedia Commons)
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Andy Orlin says
Dear Marlene–
Thank you as always for your post on your backyard turkey.
You are just an absolute gem!!
You enormously enrich our neighborhood and make it the charming place to live in that it is.
Best wishes for the holidays and a happy and healthy New Year.
David Jonas Bardin says
Thank you for these photos and reports.
Paul says
Ah, my friend the wild turkey hen. I was reading in our garden room a few weeks ago. Sensing some movement outside, I looked up to see her walking calmly along the top of the fence. Our two cats were looking out at the window, mesmerized, and obviously a bit fearful of this weirdly large bird unlike any other bird they regularly watch. The hen kept on her way, walking all the way up the fence and jumping into the woods to disappear.
Demitrio says
Great post but turkeys are not agile fliers. They are awkward fliers that can only fly for a hundred or so yards at a time.
FHC says
What they lack in distance, they make up for in speed. Wild turkeys can fly as fast as 55 miles per hour! Once they take wing, they are not slow and lumbering birds.