East Bay’s wild turkeys seem quieter as Thanksgiving nears
The turkeys that are often seen throughout the East Bay Regional Park District, other area open spaces and even residential neighborhoods seem to have been less active lately, perhaps because they sense that Thanksgiving is approaching.
They’re still out there, though, and their story is an interesting one. Turkeys are native to eastern and central North America. A variety existed in what is now California about 10,000 years ago, but the species died out. The turkeys we see in the wild today are descendants of birds that were introduced to the state many years ago for hunting purposes, with the acquiescence of state fish and wildlife officials.
I’ve seen and heard them at Briones Regional Park, Diablo Foothills and my own front lawn in Pleasant Hill. There is still
a turkey-hunting season in California, but no hunting of any kind is allowed in the East Bay regional parks. For state turkeyhunting regulations, visit wildlife.ca.gov. Wild turkeys live in oak woodlands. They are ground nesters but can fly up into trees to escape predators.
Their diet consists of seeds, bugs, berries, acorns in the fall and clover in the spring. They are
food themselves for mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes and raptors, including golden eagles. Adult turkeys weigh 15 to 20 pounds. They have powerful chest muscles, enabling rapid flight, and can run as fast as 18 miles per hour. Because of their eye positioning, they have a visual range of 270 degrees. Their hearing is acute too.
This is not turkeys’
mating season. Wild tom turkeys usually assemble a harem of 14 to 20 hens from mid- to late February. Typically, breeding is in March, eggs are laid in April, and the poults ( baby birds) hatch in May. The females nest amid rocks and brush. The freshly hatched poults can’t fly for their first two weeks of life, so predators get most of them dur