Wild ‘tourist’ turkeys make downtown home

Passersby have taken to the feathered neighbors

BRANFORD — “Margaret” and “Gus,” two toms (male) turkeys seem to have ruffled the feathers of some motorists downtown, where the pair can be seen jaywalking across Main Street.

But they’ve captured the hearts of some residents, and have become somewhat famous on local Facebook groups, where people track their daily travels and post photos. So far, they have been seen from Kohl’s in the busy Branhaven Plaza on Route 1 all the way to Caron’s Corner on Montowese Street.

These “tourist turkeys” waddle downtown from a jewelry store to the bank, local grocery store, and hang out on street corners, witnesses say. And these feathered bipeds are not using the crosswalks.

Rare in center of town

Resident Meg Heath would look for the pair on her family walks after she and her sons, Logan, 9, and Gideon, 6, first spotted them near their neighborhood. Sometimes they saw them on the street in traffic.

“We have even helped them cross the street so people don’t accidentally hit them,” she said. “We were very surprised to see them, but excited, too. My boys wanted to run over and get close to them.”

Wild turkeys are not new to Branford, but it’s rare to see them in the center of town, according to Laura Burban, director of the Dan

Cosgrove Animal Shelter. Every year, migrating turkeys usually land near Alps Road, where, she noted, there is a “whole family of 20 of them” who return to every autumn.

While turkeys may stop over or live in many towns, “It’s a little unusual for Branford — we don’t usually see them in the center of town. It’s a little unusual because it’s so busy,” Burban said. “We’re not sure if these guys are offshoots or that family — or where these two came from.”

The birds usually first appear in late summer. “These are wild turkeys and they fly in — usually in the fall. We’ll see them in August through October,” she said. “They’ll cause issues — then they leave again.”

Burban explains why the toms may have been drawn to the downtown. “They just roost in the trees around that area. That’s what they do.” This pair have also been seen roosting in the trees across the street from the Blackstone Library at night.

Burgeoning numbers

Although wild turkeys had long been wiped out in the state in decades past, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection estimates there are some 30,000 to 35,000 birds here, according to the Connecticut Audubon Society website.

“It was only 40 years ago that a border-to-border search in Connecticut for wild turkeys would have yielded nothing,” according to Milan Bull, Connecticut Audubon’s senior director of science and conservation, as quoted on the website.

The society manages wild turkey habitats at a number of its 19 sanctuaries, including the Croft sanctuary in Goshen, the Bafflin sanctuary in Pomfret and Banks South sanctuary in Fairfield.

In the fall, before winter sets in, these wild birds

“can often be seen in flocks of a dozen or more, foraging through forests and parks, in suburban areas and along roadsides,” according to Connecticut Audubon.

Wildlife managers in the state had tried a number of times to restore the majestic bird to no avail, until the 1970s when they tried something new, the website notes.

Using bait, they “attracted turkeys in New York” and used “rockets to shoot a large, lightweight net over them.” The original 22 captured turkeys were released here, where “they took up residence.”

As the big birds successfully bred and multiplied, wildlife officials used the same method to capture turkeys in the state and move them to other locations.

Increased sightings

Now, nearly every town can count wild turkeys among their residents. It can be dicey for the wild fowl to mingle with humans in populated areas, experts say.

Branford Animal Control was called in about the twosome when one appeared injured. “One of them was limping — maybe he got tapped by a car or fell out of a tree, roosting,” But he’s alright now, Burban added.

“They tend to get stuck in an area — we see this around cities — even inner cities,” she said. “Sometimes they break away from the families because they’re male and they’re supposed to go and look for their own families.

“They’re in the road — people stop for them,” Burban said.

One photo posted showed two adult turkeys with little ones walking behind the adults all in a line. Those on social media speculated that was their new family.

Not these downtown birds, Burban said. “Usually two males especially are not going to stay with the babies — they aren’t going to like that.”

Contributed photos Wild turkeys “Margaret” and “Gus” have made downtown Branford their home.