Birds of a Feather

by Ruth Ann Angus

I nearly creamed two wild turkeys who were trotting up the road from the State Park. What's the matter with them? Don't they know this is the season for serving them with cranberry sauce and stuffing? I'm not sure wild birds would be as tasty as the domestic variety. These birds look rather lean and lank. I have to wonder how they have been doing living life in town.

I often spot wild turkeys as I speed down Highway 1 to San Luis Obispo. They love the open field next to Woods Humane Society. Maybe they feel protected there. Actually they are trotting around on the Manini Ranch and are often in the company of the beautiful belted cattle that graze in that field. Just beyond the field are trees and lots of cover so they have a nice hiding place when they need it. Mule deer also share this acreage and the cover along with the turkeys. The interesting thing is that you don't always see either group. But as the weather turns cool and the days get shorter, they appear on the scene. Just recently I spotted over 20 birds in there feverishly feeding. I wanted to shout to them, "Watch out, it's hunting season."

Another good place for spotting wild turkeys is up Old Creek Road. You have to get all the way over the mountain and be technically in north county before you come upon the field where they often come trotting through. It's a wide open hillside on the right side of the road as you travel north. Here too, they can be accompanied by cattle—this time longhorns. And mule deer like this terrain also. All have access to cover back in the cluster of oaks that ring the field.

I can understand the birds liking these country habitats. It's these town birds that I don't quite get. Folks who live on the hillsides near to the State Park are visited by the turkeys. They scatter all over the lawns and wander onto the roadways. Who knows what messes they leave behind! Their cover area must be somewhere in the pine and eucalyptus trees in the upper regions of the park. And I suppose there just isn't enough food there to satisfy their appetites, thus, the traveling into town neighborhoods.

It's okay. I like the idea that we have wild turkeys. But I just wish they would wear some brightly colored clothing so I could notice them as they run into the road. I don't think I would get more than a couple of pounds of meat off of any of them if I hit them and killed them. Really, I would much rather buy a Butterball this year!