Turkey Trotting Through Our National Parks

You can find them in the woods and meadows, along riverbanks and sometimes trotting down a city street. Wild turkeys are prevalent across North America, and even in Hawaii.

The continent has one wild turkey species, Meleagris gallopavo, and five subspecies that can be distinguished by variations in the colors of their feathers, general size and length of legs, as well as their geographic range. Eastern wild turkeys are the most common and widely distributed subspecies, with researchers estimating their population at more than 5 million. People most commonly associate this variety with the “Thanksgiving turkey” enjoyed by early settlers. The continent’s other subspecies are the Rio Grande, Merriam’s, Gould’s and Osceola, also known as the Florida wild turkey.

Wild turkeys can live up to five years. They eat leaves, grasses, berries, seeds, insects and fruits, yet they have connection to meat-eating dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus rex. Besides having a common ancestor about 190 million years ago, T. rex and Tom Turkey share a skeletal characteristic — they both have a wishbone.

Think Benjamin Franklin wanted the National Bird to be a turkey? Well, The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia says that’s a myth. Rather, the founding father had criticized in a letter to his daughter the original eagle design for the new country’s Great Seal. He wrote it looked more like a turkey, adding that while the “Bald Eagle…is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly…[he] is too lazy to fish for himself,” the turkey is “a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America…He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage.”

While turkeys didn’t become a symbol of the nation, they are considered a success story for wildlife conservation. They almost became extinct throughout much of their historical range by the early 20th century due to loss of habitat and hunting. But habitat restoration, regulated hunting and reintroduction programs boosted their numbers — so much so, that wild turkeys began moving into cities in recent decades to access food and roosting spots and avoid predators.

Other interesting facts about turkeys from the National Park Service: They can fly up to 55 miles per hour when necessary. Gender of the eastern wild turkeys can be determined by their poop — male droppings are J shaped while female droppings are spiral shaped. A male’s fleshy appendage draped over the bill is called a snood, while the bib hanging below the chin is called a wattle.

Here’s a sampling of parks — both expected and unexpected — where the Park Service says you can spot wild turkeys:

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

This park contains some of the largest tracts of wilderness in the East and is a critical sanctuary for a wide variety of animals. Its open areas, such as Cataloochee and Cades Cove, offer some of the best opportunities to see wild turkeys, as well as white-tailed deer, black bear, raccoon, woodchuck and other wildlife.

Cowpens National Battlefield

This South Carolina park preserves and interprets the 1781 Battle of Cowpens, which took place late in the Revolutionary War and became part of a chain of events leading to Patriot victory at Yorktown, the last major battle for American independence. The site hosts many species of migratory birds during the spring and fall, with wild turkeys among its year-round residents — a common sight along the battlefield’s loop road.

Longfellow House - Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site

The home of 19th-century poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and early headquarters of George Washington during the American Revolution is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The urban park site has recorded many varieties of songbirds, hawks and woodpeckers, plus the eastern wild turkey. Turkeys often forage on the site’s grounds and roost in the trees at night.

Turkey Run Park, George Washington Memorial Parkway

This park within Washington, D.C.’s Capital Beltway preserves a slice of the Potomac River Gorge ecosystem and is so named because of its abundance of wild turkeys. The park’s riverbanks, flood terraces, upland forest and streams provide home for a diverse set of flora and fauna, including this native bird.

Chiricahua National Monument

Identified as an “Important Bird Area” by the American Bird Conservancy, Chiricahua National Monument and other areas of Southeast Arizona are home to large numbers of migratory birds and federally listed threatened and endangered species. After being hunted to near extinction, the Gould’s turkey was successfully reintroduced in its home range here in the 1990s.

Bryce Canyon National Park

Wild turkeys can be found in the arid grasslands and forests of Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. In addition to eating acorns, leaves, berries, grass and insects, they have been known to eat frogs, lizards, snakes and salamanders if other food sources are not available.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

More than 185 different bird species can be seen here at different times of the year, with most of them considered migratory. Among the notable species that hang around all year, even in North Dakota’s cold winters, is the wild turkey.

Everglades National Park

The Florida wild turkey, also called Osceola, is an upland species that inhabits pinelands, cypress swamps, prairies and hardwood hammocks in southern Florida. It became extirpated, or locally extinct, in the Long Pine Key region of Everglades National Park in the early 1900s. Efforts to reestablish its population within the park began in 2000s. Monitoring in the park since then has shown mixed results.

Cape Cod National Seashore

After being turkey-free for more than 130 years, Cape Cod has a turkey management issue due to reintroduction efforts in the 1980s and 1990s. For the past 14 years, turkey hunting has been permitted in Cape Cod National Seashore during April and May. The turkey hunt adheres to most of Massachusetts Department of Fish and Wildlife regulations and requirements, and a national seashore turkey hunting permit is required.