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How wild turkeys ended up everywhere in the (California) Bay Area
SFGATE ^ | March 2, 2026 | Kasia Pawlowska

Posted on 03/02/2026 12:48:45 PM PST by rexthecat

Along the sloping banks of the San Lorenzo Creek in Hayward, steps from the oldest Japanese garden in California, chaos unfolds. The creek is a favorite gathering spot for the Bay Area’s wild turkeys..

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: localnews

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To: hanamizu

“””Wild Turkeys don’t go anywhere near people.
Where I live in SE Missouri, wild turkeys can occasionally be spotted in people’s yards and can fly, although they prefer to run. Once they get into the woods, they have the ability to become invisible, it’s uncanny.”””

They are everywhere here in Minneapolistan. They aren’t afraid like the ones out in the country are. They fly up into trees to sleep. Rather entertaining.


21 posted on 03/02/2026 1:26:03 PM PST by shelterguy
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To: rexthecat

Yup - they’re all over Hercules when I go there to visit a friend. Fun to see.


22 posted on 03/02/2026 1:26:56 PM PST by AnotherUnixGeek
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To: lee martell

You can talk about geese and turkeys all day long but never turn your back on a SWAN


23 posted on 03/02/2026 1:28:09 PM PST by freedomlover
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To: AnotherUnixGeek

They come through our yard on occasion. The coyotes don’t like to come out into the open after them.


24 posted on 03/02/2026 1:32:09 PM PST by AppyPappy (They don't call you a Nazi because they think you are one. They do it to justify violence. )
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To: rexthecat

They are amazing. Tough as hell and adaptable to almost any environment. Being smart and aware make them challenging to hunt as well. You really have to be still and well camouflaged to get a shot. Worth the effort IMHO.


25 posted on 03/02/2026 1:32:32 PM PST by Wilderness Conservative (There will be no voting our way out of this mess.)
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To: freedomlover

Oh really. Are Swans often aggressive?


26 posted on 03/02/2026 1:35:49 PM PST by lee martell
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To: READINABLUESTATE

The local game and fisheries department seeded our area. Now they’re everywhere. Needed another thing to rack up my bumper


27 posted on 03/02/2026 1:38:59 PM PST by Chickensoup
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To: DFG

The Kickin Chikin.


28 posted on 03/02/2026 1:42:56 PM PST by Hyman Roth
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To: READINABLUESTATE

Turkeys bred in turkey farms have very short life’s most die within a year. Friend won a live turkey for Thanksgiving. Kids loved it he could not cook it. It nested under a tree came in and slept in a sun room. One day it went out nested and they found it dead. It lasted a year. Vet said normal they are not wild


29 posted on 03/02/2026 1:50:31 PM PST by OldGoatCPO (No Caitiff Choir of Angels will sing for me)
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To: rexthecat

them and the deer are menaces


30 posted on 03/02/2026 2:01:55 PM PST by Vendome (I've Gotta Be Me https://youtu.be/wH-pk2vZG2M)
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To: rexthecat

They have very few (not “no”) natural predators, but their offspring survival rate is pretty low. Out of a clutch of 10-12 it’s unusual to see more than 2-3 following mama.


31 posted on 03/02/2026 2:05:46 PM PST by Attention Surplus Disorder
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To: rexthecat
How wild turkeys ended up everywhere in the (California) Bay Area

Uber


32 posted on 03/02/2026 2:09:51 PM PST by mikey_hates_everything
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To: rexthecat

They are fast becoming an annoyance. What were a few birds every month a couple of years ago is now a flock of about 20 almost daily. They’re a coyote magnet. They tear up the ground pooping exotic seed all over.


33 posted on 03/02/2026 2:10:50 PM PST by Carry_Okie (The tree of liberty needs a rope.)
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To: SpaceBar
These introduced birds thrived due to abundant food, lack of predators, and adaptable suburban habitats like oak woodlands and parks.

Reintroduced. Indians had extirpated them.

34 posted on 03/02/2026 2:12:53 PM PST by Carry_Okie (The tree of liberty needs a rope.)
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To: Wilderness Conservative
Being smart and aware make them challenging to hunt as well.

Oh please. I could open a window and it would be hard to miss one.

35 posted on 03/02/2026 2:14:55 PM PST by Carry_Okie (The tree of liberty needs a rope.)
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To: rexthecat

San Francisco was overrun with jive turkeys long before that!


36 posted on 03/02/2026 2:15:51 PM PST by BradyLS (DO NOT FEED THE BEARS!)
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To: Attention Surplus Disorder
Out of a clutch of 10-12 it’s unusual to see more than 2-3 following mama.

Squirrels, jays, and crows are all egg raiders of ground nesting birds.

37 posted on 03/02/2026 2:17:03 PM PST by Carry_Okie (The tree of liberty needs a rope.)
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To: SpaceBar

I have a neighbor who has three turkeys. Yes, the poop looks like axle grease.
Used to have wild ones on the back of the property. No gone due to predators. Caught a bob cat on my game camera. and I live on 15 acres now in town!


38 posted on 03/02/2026 2:17:30 PM PST by Ruy Dias de Bivar (REOPEN THE MENTAL HOSPITALS CLOSED IN THE 1970s!)
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To: rexthecat

39 posted on 03/02/2026 2:19:39 PM PST by rlmorel (Factio Communistica Sinensis Delenda Est)
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To: Wilderness Conservative
They ARE interesting creatures. This was videoed in my state:

That is a dead cat in the road. Biologists couldn't fully explain why they did this.

40 posted on 03/02/2026 2:23:06 PM PST by rlmorel (Factio Communistica Sinensis Delenda Est)
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