The Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is fairly abundant in this area. It seems to tolerate suburban encroachment reasonably well. Some years ago, when Mary Mother of the Redeemer Church on Upper State Road, near Montgomeryville, was dedicating their church, several mature male Wild Turkeys saw their own reflections in the large windows in the rear of the sanctuary. They began to challenge their reflections and got quite aggressive. Of course, only those officiating could see this. It was quite comical. They ended up making a racket as they charged into their reflections. Turkeys can be quite aggressive. The priests and bishop could not contain themselves from laughing at the spectacle. I think they decided to plant some bushes to obscure those windows to cut down on the reflection somewhat.
Last fall, (I’m not sure if it wasn’t on the way home from Thanksgiving dinner) we were driving down S. 9th St., just entering Perkasie, right by that little creek, we saw a flock of Wild Turkeys. There were four males, all strutting with their tail feathers in full display. So they are definitely local.
Family: Pheasants and Grouse
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