Wild turkeys running rampant in Marin are descendants of fowl served at the first Thanksgiving feast shared in 1621 by Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag. It was during that celebration when, yes, some toms and hens got wise and ran (well, trotted) west. Eventually a few made it all the way to Oregon and California, stowing away on wagon trains and boats.
Lewis to Clark: What the heck is making all that racket? Clark: Maybe I was snoring? Anyway, flash forward to the settling of Marin County, and dang if those great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great-grandturkeys (sorry) didn't make a nice comfy home here for themselves.
Well, maybe they share the same ancient gene pool, but the ubiquitous wild birds of Marin are actually believed to be descendants of turkeys released by the Department of Fish and Game at a Loma Alta ranch in 1988. Fish and Game's intention? To give hunters something to do. (There's no bear or bison here, so what else could those poor guys put on their wall?) But the aim of Fish and Game to provide hunting privileges on private land ran amok when the turkeys ran amok--those wattled creatures made their way to public lands where hunting is prohibited. And it's these very turkeys, according to different accounts, that today wreak havoc in Marin by pecking at BMWs, fertilizing driveways, and scaring children and golfers. There are also concerns that they're gobbling up acorns, threatening the regeneration of our beloved oak trees. Poor Benjamin Franklin, who thought the noble turkey would make a better national symbol than the bald eagle.
What do I have to say on the subject? On your way to Grandma's, wave to that rafter (group) of wild turkeys on the roadside, and give a big thanks to Butterball.
Happy Thanksgiving.
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