Wildlife in San Ramon-Wild Turkey

This is how exciting it is here in the burbs. I went to put a poopy diaper in the outside garbage can and saw this guy. I went up to the fence and he just limped a few feet away and made cute turkey noises. So I went inside, washed my hands, grabbed the camera, the phone and took a couple of pics while I called animal control. I then loaded up all the kids and went to the gym.




Four hours later and he is still hanging out. Ding-dong, thankfully Jake wasn't napping anyways, otherwise I would be annoyed by the doorbell. It's animal control, and those guys carry real guns, did you know that? Mike tried to touch it.

All 4 of us escorted the officer to our backyard to show him the turkey. I showed him how to access the creek and as soon as he stepped up to the fence, the damn thing flew off. Scared the bejesus out of us! That turkey was easily 20 pounds, with a huge wing span and when he flew off it was no joke.

I felt kind of stupid for making the call to animal control, but I explained that I didn't want a turkey to, "expire" in plain view of my children or become a feast for some coyotes. I used the word expire, because my kids know what dead means, and I spelled coyote. The officer assured me I did the right thing and that if the turkey hadn't flown off, he would have transported it to the shelter.

We then escorted the officer outside and he informed me that he has a 1 and a 3 year old, so we talked about the cost of diapers and formula. He then gave Mike, Bekah, and Jake a tour of his truck. He showed us where the dogs, cats and smaller animals go before he takes them to the shelter. He showed us his tools of the trade, like nets and those poles with the lasso thingy on the end. And he explained in great detail how his radio works and how it allows him to talk to dispatch. Bekah was very intrigued by the button on his radio. It was like a preschool field trip at my house.

The friendly officer went on his way and we haven't seen the turkey since. As you can see by the dent in my fence, he was a hefty bird, and doesn't have very good eyesight. He flew right into it, and if you look really close you can even see a feather clinging.

Hopefully the turkey was just stunned, and sprained, and will heal. The real victim seems to be my plaque of the G-ddess Athena that was hanging from that section of the fence. Athena is the G-ddess of war and is supposed to protect cities, homes, property etc. But it looks like poor Athena is no match for a big, fat turkey.

Well there you go, it doesn't get more exciting than that here in the burbs. The rest of the afternoon was spent getting the boys' haircuts and going to Cost-co. They were out of Dino nuggets (dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets for you non-parents) but I will save that thrilling saga for another day.