# Wild turkeys in California, and other interesting wildlife trends **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 28, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-turkeys-in-california-and-other-interesting-wildlife-trends/576317 "2011-03-28T21:40:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![poker\_in\_the\_rear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dc4da7/32.png) [@poker\_in\_the\_rear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/poker_in_the_rear)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-turkeys-in-california-and-other-interesting-wildlife-trends/576317/21 "2011-03-29T17:28:23Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > We must be neighbors - I live in that area as well and it’s not at all unusual to see them come down from the hills, they forage for food in everybody’s yard. The males like to stand in the road and stare down cars - nobody wants to run them over so traffic crawls until Mr. Turkey decides to get out of the way. We also get a lot of deer. El Cerrito resident here. See them almost every day. One of the Tom’s chased my car down the street the other day. I live on a relatively busy street and when the turkeys are out I just wait for a wreck to happen either from the birds walking into the street or by having a driver get distracted by a flock(?) of 'em roaming around. ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-turkeys-in-california-and-other-interesting-wildlife-trends/576317/22 "2011-03-29T21:02:35Z")
> [@Batsinma\_Belfry](#): > > About 20 years ago, my future husband and I were at a local ( Middle TN ) park, and saw what we thought to be a sea gull. My hubby called the local wild life office and they pretty much told him we were mistaken. Five years later, you couldn’t go shopping, eat out, or anything without reenacting a scene from The Birds. They were drawn by all the fast food dumpsters in the shopping areas. You can thank hurricane Hugo for blowing sea birds your way in September of 1989. Remarkably adaptable, it’s no wonder they’ve thrived. You gonna eat the rest of that burrito? Toss it in the grass, they’ll take care of it for ya! ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-turkeys-in-california-and-other-interesting-wildlife-trends/576317/23 "2011-03-29T21:24:51Z")
> [@ducati](#): > > You can thank hurricane Hugo for blowing sea birds your way in September of 1989. > Remarkably adaptable, it’s no wonder they’ve thrived. You gonna eat the rest of that burrito? Toss it in the grass, they’ll take care of it for ya! I hadn’t considered that. I assumed that it was caused by over population in their natural habitat. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-turkeys-in-california-and-other-interesting-wildlife-trends/576317/24 "2011-03-29T21:32:19Z")
Just today a mountain lion was shot near downtown Redwood City. [Link to SFGate article](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/29/BAD61ILPP1.DTL&type=newsbayarea) ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-turkeys-in-california-and-other-interesting-wildlife-trends/576317/25 "2011-03-29T22:09:14Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > Suburban, what is Mather used for nowadays? I went to High School in Folsom (class of '79) and a third of the kids were from Mather. The actual airport is still in use for freight (FedEx, UPS, etc.). The rest is slowly but surely being turned into office buildings and light industrial. The building I’m sitting in right now used to be the Commissary; now it’s an office building with 600 or so people in it. ---
**Author:** ![Hedda\_Rosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hedda_rosa/32/1204_2.png) [@Hedda\_Rosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hedda_Rosa)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-turkeys-in-california-and-other-interesting-wildlife-trends/576317/26 "2011-03-29T22:27:35Z")
Sonoma county here, I see wild turkeys crossing suburban streets regularly, and they wander around communities that back to Annadel park all the time. And I saw one taking a left turn (the turkey, not me) into the costco parking lot a few months ago. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-turkeys-in-california-and-other-interesting-wildlife-trends/576317/27 "2011-03-29T22:31:03Z")
> [@KRC](#): > > We’ve got the Eurasian Doves, which are known for cooing 10 solid hours. I once joked that they had an online dating service, because they sat on the wires and advertised for mates. > > They’re good at it to. In 2006 I saw three of them. In 2009 I went around the block and saw 90. Sounds like the doves went around the block, too! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_A_Tame_Lion)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-turkeys-in-california-and-other-interesting-wildlife-trends/576317/28 "2011-04-03T10:09:12Z")
Turkeys are apparently taking over California, not just in Sacramento (insert state government joke here). I used to see them a lot when I lived over in Lafayette, when I was hiking in the hills thereabouts. My mom moved to Walnut Creek (Rossmoor) a few years ago, and flocks of turkeys have been a regular feature on the lawn in front of her condo (along with deer and geese). I didn’t think I’d see many of them when I moved back to Alameda back in 2009. However, there is now a resident pair of turkeys here on the island, specifically in my neighborhood. It seems to be two hens, possibly a mother and daughter. They roam around the central part of the island in fairly regular circles. I’ve actually walked out of my apartment in the morning and seen them strolling along the sidewalk right in front of the building. They seem to get along OK; apparently there’s enough food for them, and the local cat population (Alameda is lousy with cats; always has been) doesn’t seem to want any part of them. The turkeys are almost a pair of celebrities around here now, having gotten local newspaper coverage and such. When I was growing up here, most of the wildlife was more along the lines of raccoons and opossums. Turkeys never made the scene. I guess it’s become fashionable now to have at least a pair of turkeys roaming your streets. I’ll leave it to the sociologists to figure out what that all means. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-turkeys-in-california-and-other-interesting-wildlife-trends/576317/29 "2011-04-03T14:58:07Z")
A family of seven turkeys showed up in my neighborhood last year. They’ve been losing their fear of people, and the two toms have become a bit aggressive. Here is a story by a [local woman who was intimidated by these feathered miscreants](http://elcerrito.patch.com/articles/wildfowl-get-wild-on-navellier-menacing-turkey-assails-our-correspondent). One woman on my block was afraid to get out of her car when some turkeys started menacing her - the woman’s daughter opened the front door to the house to let their dog bark at the birds, but one of the turkeys rushed at the dog so the girl slammed the door shut. Another time some turkeys actually pecked at a car that someone had just parked. These birds saunter down the middle of the street and don’t have the sense to get out of the way when cars come. I have seen these turkeys on rooftops. Someone please inform Mr. Carlson that these turkeys can fly (at least a little bit). My fear is that a car will plow into these birds some day. I have suggested to neighbors that we try chasing the turkeys away with a gravy boat and some cranberry sauce. We have yet to put this plan into action. BTW, what happened to all the robins? They used to be common around here, but I rarely see them any more. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-turkeys-in-california-and-other-interesting-wildlife-trends/576317.md?page=1)