You are what you eat

November

If you’re a wild turkey, that’s a varied menu: plants, insects, snails, grasshoppers, fruits, beechnuts, acorns, grapes, corn and oats. You can read more about the wild birds in the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s family newsletter.

Once widespread across the state and the country, turkey numbers dropped as land was cleared for farming. Restoration efforts here and elsewhere have been considered one of the natural-resource success stories.

From the DEC:

“Today, numbers have increased dramatically to an estimated 250,000 to 300,000 birds. In addition, New York has sent almost 700 wild turkeys to the states of Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, and the Province of Ontario, helping to reestablish populations throughout the Northeast.”

Check out this story for information about the turkey success in Minnesota – plus it features a cool photo.

The photo above by TJN photographer Vincent DiSalvio shows some wild turkeys in New City in August.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 26th, 2008 at 11:41 am by Mike Risinit.
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The Nature of Things

A blog about nature and the environment