Now, for the Rest of the Story
By June Capossela Kempf
Just couldn’t help following up on the adventures of Tommy the Turkey who was spotted wandering, all alone, around these parts last month. Seems like he visited dozens of residents here, with some reporting endearing encounters with him and others reacting with alarm and dismay.
“Now he is chasing deer,” Fannie, our disgruntled neighbor reports, who if you recall, was herself chased all over her backyard – when she went after Tommy with a broom. A lot of us endeared ourselves to the fowl visitor, despite Fannie’s persistent complaining. Soon a neighborhood watch was formed – just to keep tabs on him. His photo even went viral and Tommy soon became a celebrity in town. When the need arose to change a conversation from politics or religion it was safe to ask, “Has anyone seen the turkey lately? “Everyone had a ‘story’.
And then – came a new chapter.
Fast forward – a few weeks go by, and I find myself stuck in a traffic jam on Moriches Road. It wasn’t dismissal time at Mills Pond School, so I wondered what was holding things up. There were no annoying horns honking – just everyone patiently sitting in their vehicles waiting for something. When I saw a turkey emerge between the fenders, my heart skipped a beat.
Was that Tommy? Seeing that he made it safely across the street, I expected traffic to start moving; but everyone just stayed put.
“You can go now people,” I muttered. But nothing happened because a second turkey was following a few feet behind Tommy. This one appeared a little smaller and less colorful. I rashly deduced that his companion was a hen.
Halleluia, I thought. Tommy found a friend. Naturally, I named her Henrietta without really knowing if that was, in fact, my Tommy in the first place. No matter, I was imagined that by now, he had begun to establish his own new flock in which he occupied the top rung of dominance. He would never be banished and alone again. He was now king of the hill. What a comeback!
With both birds safely across the street, the usual madness resumed on the Moriches Road raceway. Overjoyed, I headed for home, pulled down my street but had to slam on my brakes when I got to Fannie’s house. There were two turkeys and 3 fledglings merrily nibbling at all her azalea plants.
Where did they come from? Who are they? Was that Tommy and Henrietta on Moriches Road or is this Tommy with some other Henrietta and their brood traipsing all over Fannie’s lawn?
I was so confused, I decided to call the nature preserve again. This time I spoke to a pleasant wildlife expert named Nancy. After I shared my concerns over the additional wild turkeys on the loose, she supplied a wealth of information for me to mull over.
“Be aware,” she said. “That turkeys are aggressive. Don’t get too close to them. They will attack people, other animals and have even been known to chase cars.”
“Will they attack deer?”
“Oh yes, and quite often lately, since the deer have been overpopulating the whole island at an alarming rate.”
She went on.
“Your area is not only home to turkeys. There are families of snapping turtles wandering around the streets too.” Nancy was on a roll as she rattled off a list of local wildlife species that may be hanging around like red tailed hawks, ospreys and herons.
“Did you know there are some wild foxes in the woods behind your house?”
After thanking Nancy for all the information, I had one more question for her.
“Shoot.” she said.
“Could you give me any ideas on how to lure the turkeys to my garden?”
“What?” she said. “Why?”
“To keep the deer from ‘gobbling’ up all my Hosta plants.” With that, Nancy abruptly ended out conversation. And that, dear readers. is enough of the rest of this fowl story.