I live in the city of Philadelphia – a residential neighborhood, but definitely a city neighborhood. I live on a working-class block of rowhouses and twins. I’m in a twin that’s actually on a lot-and-a-half, so I have a long, narrow side yard in addition to a smallish backyard – enough room for a nice little garden, but it’s definitely a little garden.
The folks in the other half of my twin have a driveway down the “half lot” along the side, leading to a garage in the back, and have built an addition to the back of their house, so their actual “yard” is maybe 15’x20’, maybe a little smaller. They don’t tend it at all, so it’s filled with weeds and “volunteer” plants from my side (a couple of nice foxgloves, etc.) – but basically it’s waste space.
Which has a large wild turkey walking around it at the moment.
twickster, you are momentarily lacking kindness. What you need to do is talk to the turkey gently; offer it some ice cream. When you are both relaxed, make it a business proposal involving robbing banks. It’s perfect! Noone will believe any stories of a turkey robbing banks, and the FBI won’t have his DNA on file.
When we were living in suburban D.C. some years back, there was a red fox who would routinely sleep in a pile of leaves next to the neighbor’s fence. This was about 150 feet off Georgia Avenue, which is a main thoroughfare.
Some animals find city life quite enjoyable, apparently!
Befriend the turkey! Get some feedlot grain for it, too.
Then come November, you’ll be able to have a nice, guilt-free, free-range turkey with you at Thanksgiving dinner.
Of tofurkey, of course. What did you think I meant?
Every day I walk through Harlem to get home from work and there is a chicken that hangs out and wanders around the sidewalk. I last saw it sitting outside the KFC. Talk about a ballsy chicken! :eek:
Update: It has come down out of the tree. It is now walking around my backyard. One of my idiot neighbors says “No, it’s not a turkey – it’s a peacock.” :rolleyes:
I’ve seen a coyote trotting down the street in Yorba Linda, CA. This is about 5am and only about 10 blocks from the scrubby foothills, but that was one unconcerned, brave coyote.
Oh, it must have wandered away from Brighton, MA. I saw a wild turkey on the green line once, and there’s a local movie theater which a whole flock lives behind (in the woods).
Since we’re in the ‘wildlife in my yard’ mode, I’ll mention that my current town (St. John’s, Newfoundland) commonly gets moose, muskrat and on one occasion (mother’s day 1993), a polar bear.
Now, a polar bear, that would be a seriously good bank robber. The only thing better would be one of those guns that shoots armored polar bears out th’ end.
Well, nowhere near as impressive as polar bear, of course, but a few years ago someone let loose a couple wallaby in a neighboring town. I think the WTF factor there would have made them some awesome bankrobbers. Alas none of them could deal with the trials of a New England winter.
At my rowhouse in Washington DC, I’ve seen a deer in my driveway a racoon in my backyard and a possum in my basement and a guy selling weed on my front wall (but not to the racoon).
I haven’t heard of wild turkeys in Philadelphia before, but I once watched a redtailed hawk eat a pigeon at 9:30 on a Monday morning only feet from the street at 36th and Sansom. I didn’t have a camera either, dammit.
That was actually the second time I’d seen a hawk on or near the Penn campus (the other wasn’t a redtail; not sure what it was). I hear woodpeckers fairly often, and I saw one once. Possums are everywhere, and there are said to be deer in Mt. Laurel Cemetery. I’ve heard a third-hand report of a fox near the Penn medical school; I’m not inclined to doubt it.
A man I used to work with, who lives further out in West Philadelphia, once woke in the wee hours to find baby raccoons in his kitchen; they’d come in through the cat flap (to the considerable alarm of his cats) and were trying to eat the cats’ kibble, first washing it in the cats’ water bowl, which of course defeated the purpose. He got a broom and urged them back out the cat door, and after considerable chittering to each other, they left.
Actually, any animal that can find food and shelter in a city, can get used to humans and noise, and can avoid getting squished by cars, can probably make a good life here. They needn’t worry about hunters, for a start.
I hear from our mutual acquaintenances that I missed a spectacular turkey dinner at your place. I was mystified at first as I know you do not have the room in your refrigerator to defrost such large item, but your friend informed me it “didn’t need thawing”.