Those odd birds at your Thanksgiving table are even wilder than you thought. Amuse your guests with some offbeat turkey facts.
Then walk off the meal at a national wildlife refuge national wildlife refuge A national wildlife refuge is typically a contiguous area of land and water managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the conservation and, where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans. Learn more about national wildlife refuge where you may you spy wild turkeys strutting and displaying. Who knows? You might emerge looking less like a butterball yourself. (Just joking.)
Read on to learn some oddball turkey trivia and wild turkey hideouts.
TURKEY FACT #1: Enough with gobble, gobble. Turkeys also cluck and purr.
TURKEY FACT #2: Turkey droppings tell a bird’s sex and age. Male droppings are j-shaped; female droppings are spiral-shaped. The larger the diameter, the older the bird.
TURKEY FACT #3: Feathers galore: An adult turkey has 5,000 to 6,000 feathers — count them!
TURKEY FACT #4: Tom turkeys aren’t the only ones that swagger and fan their tail feathers to woo mates and ward off rivals. Some hens strut, too.
TURKEY FACT #5: Young turkeys — called poults — scarf down insects like candy. Poults develop more of a taste for plants after they’re four weeks old.
TURKEY FACT #6: They may look off-kilter — tilting their heads and staring at the sky — yet they’re fast. Turkeys can clock 18 miles per hour on foot and up to 50 miles per hour in flight.
TURKEY FACT #7: Move over, American bald eagle. Ben Franklin called the wild turkey a “bird of courage” and thought it would make a better national symbol.
TURKEY FACT #8: In the early 1900s, wild turkeys were on the brink of extinction, with only about 200,000 left. Through conservation efforts over the past century, with funds derived from the Pittman-Robertson Act, and thanks to sportsmen and women, there are approximately 6.5 million wild birds in the United States today, according to the National Wild Turkey Federation.
Turkey-rich refuges:
FLORIDASt Marks National Wildlife RefugeTo boost your chances of seeing turkeys, lower your car speed to a crawl — “Turkeys are sensitive to the movement of vehicles,” says ranger David Moody — or get out and walk, slowly. Turkeys like the open terrain of the longleaf pine sandhill ecosystem along the Florida National Scenic Trail, almost 50 miles of which go through the refuge. $5 entrance fee.
GEORGIAPiedmont National Wildlife RefugeLook for turkeys along 50 miles of gravel roads, including 6-mile-long Wildlife Drive. You might also see turkeys off Round Oak Juliette Road, a scenic paved byway. Or try one of the refuge’s five hiking trails. No entrance fee.
ILLINOISCrab Orchard National Wildlife RefugeThe 1.7- mile Wild Turkey Trail leads through woods and offers a fine chance of seeing … you-know-whats. For more of a challenge, take the connecting 2.2-mile Rocky Bluff Trail. Entrance fee: $2 per vehicle.
MASSACHUSETTSParker River National Wildlife RefugeSeveral short foot trails give you a chance to glimpse wild turkeys. You might also spy some along Wildlife Drive. Entrance fee: $5 per vehicle.
More turkey-rich refuges:
MINNESOTAMinnesota Valley National Wildlife RefugeFrom the visitor center, the half-mile Hillside Trail connects to the Long Meadow Lake Trail. Follow it around the floodplain wetland, keeping your eyes out for wild turkeys. No entrance fee.
Sherburne National Wildlife RefugeThe refuge has a “healthy population” of the skittish wild birds, says deputy manager Greg Dehmer. Look for them along 7.5-mile Wildlife Drive, two refuge hiking trails, and in prairie fields beside county roads that run through the refuge. No entrance fee.
NEW MEXICOBosque del Apache National Wildlife RefugeHundreds of Rio Grande turkeys hang out here. The North and South Auto Tour Loops are good places to spot some. Other good spots: along the Rio Viejo Trail, the John Taylor Memorial Trail or the bike trail on the east side service road of the Low Flow Conveyance Channel. Entrance fee: $5 per vehicle
NEW YORKIroquois National Wildlife Refuge Feeder Road takes you on a scenic 3.5-mile drive into the refuge, passing fields and grasslands that are favorite turkey hangouts. The road is open to cars now through February, and to hikers and cyclists year-round. Three other hiking trails are also available. No entrance fee.
Still more turkey-rich refuges:
SOUTH CAROLINACarolina Sandhills National Wildlife RefugeNine-mile Wildlife Drive passes woods and fields where you might spot turkeys, especially in mornings and late afternoons. Or walk any of five hiking trails along the drive. An observation tower in the Oxpen Unit offers exceptional birding and scenic views. No entrance fee.
TEXASHagerman National Wildlife RefugeLook for wild turkeys crossing Refuge Road as you drive in the main entrance. Raasch Trail is also a good bet for seeing wild turkeys. No entrance fee.
Refuge trails are open sunrise to sunset daily, even on Thanksgiving Day when refuge visitor centers will be closed. Free trail maps are available outside the visitor center or at a refuge entrance kiosk.
