I’ve mentioned our local flock of wild turkeys before, most notably in the Thanksgiving post.

They don’t come into our yard very often, and I’ve never seen them at the community food bowl, but I suspect that’s mainly lack of opportunity. We generally fill the bowl around sunset, and the turkeys usually call it a night before then.

But they do keep an eye on the joint. The whole flock came by earlier this week to do an inspection. A couple of them flew up onto the fence and made sure there wasn’t anything worth eating in the yard, while the rest milled around the common area, scooping up snacks and intimidating the dog next door.

They’re a rowdy bunch. I’ve seen the flock face down an SUV and force it to wait until they were damn good and ready to get out of the street. A couple of days ago, they were giving a neighbor’s pickup truck a careful inspection. I fully expected them to hotwire it and go for a joyride–come to think of it, that might explain some of the car thefts we’ve had around here recently–but apparently they decided against it. Not that I would have reported them. That truck has a particularly loud and annoying engine, far more powerful than any vehicle in this suburban area really needs, and I wouldn’t have been at all sorry to see it cruising down towards the freeway with a bunch of Good Ol’ Birds whooping it up in the back.