High Park Wild Turkeys. Truly wild or Domestic?

[noam markus]

Went out to High Park following reports of Wild Turkeys. Did not take long to locate them by the pond. So the question is, are they truly wild or domestic?
 A zookeeper that I spoke to claimed that he saw two turkeys last year on the other side of Grenadier Pond and when it froze they crossed over to High Park. Could it be that they are truly wild, Wild Turkeys? Or, are they escapes from a back yard or farm, making them domestic. Note, they are not from the High Park Zoo.

Wild Turkey, High Park, Toronto by Noam Markus, on Flickr
Wild Turkey, High Park, Toronto by Noam Markus, on Flickr

[Brian Bailey]

I'm no expert on turkeys, but I was looking at Howard Shapiro's eBird report earlier this evening, and I tend to agree with his assessment. While they're clearly turkeys, the colours don't look right for wild ones. Especially the tail, which he got a clear shot of.

I expect Wild Turkeys will show up in the city before long, but I'm not sure this is it.


BB

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[JW Mills]

For what it's worth, a wild turkey hen was spotted in Lambton Woods last winter.

[Cedric]

I am no expert on the wild turkeys but somebody paying a lot of attention to the wildlife found in around High Park.

Since these two wild turkeys arrived on Jan 6, I spent a lot of time observing them and looking for relevant information on these birds and the specific colour of two juvenile hens finding their refuge near Grenadier Pond.

Attached article, in my opinion, explains well the unusual colour of their plumage.

http://www.startribune.com/smoke-phase- ... 115339759/

Bill Marchel: Smoke-phase turkeys rare, beautiful
There's no evidence those birds are the result of breeding with pen-raised turkeys.
By BILL MARCHEL Special to the Star Tribune
February 5, 2011

[noam markus]

Thank you. Very interesting. I noticed that there have been several sightings of Wild Turkeys close by over the last 3 years. Starting in Centennial Park in 2013 (aprox.15 km. West of High Park). Then in 2014, just further East, in Hampshire Heights Park and in 2015, still further East, in Lambton Woods and on the West side of Grenadier Pond.
Happy Birding.

[KR Jackson]

This morning for the first time in several weeks the two "wild" turkeys were back at their "regular" spot on the east side of Grenadier Pond.

[Cedric]

The Turkeys never left their regular spot, since they moved there from the upper area of Hillside Gardens. If you happen to miss them during your visit of High Park, they were high up in one of the spruce trees within the fenced area.

The reason for them to fly up the trees during daylight obviously are the irresponsible dog owners and dogs roaming free and chasing these birds. One bird was grabbed by the Australian Sheppard and lost quite a few feathers but survived and seems to be doing fine.

This was reported to MNR and the officer came to investigate this. He confirmed that these are Wild Turkeys.