5 ms·

Our true national bird taking to the streets of DC to inflict terror on lawmakers. We have turkeys all over urban Minneapolis. It is easy to get them irritated

Our true national bird taking to the streets of DC to inflict terror on lawmakers. We have turkeys all over urban Minneapolis. It is easy to get them irritated. I keep my distance and steer clear of them because once they go into fight mode they do not back down.

aaronbrethorst 4y ago
I had literally never heard about this until I saw a high school friend of mine posting on Facebook yesterday about the urban turkeys in S.E. Minneapolis. I moved away from Mpls in 2003, so I assume this must have become a thing sometime in the last 19 years. Any idea about the backstory?
- bombcar 4y ago
  Wild turkeys abound outside the city (just like deer) - so I presume they've migrated into the city (or they're more noticeable now).
  - duxup 4y ago
    I find they sort of come and go over the years. A few make their way in and then others follow, later they'll dissipate and so on.
huffmsa 4y ago
Franklin's revenge
- codyogden 4y ago
  Hah! Ironic that I see them mostly crossing Franklin Ave on my way to the dog park.
gullywhumper 4y ago
I used to live at 1st and Hennepin overlooking the Hennepin Ave bridge. During the lockdowns there were at least 4 times I remember either lone turkeys or small groups coming over the bridge in the middle of the day. And just yesterday, driving through the tangle of 35/94/55, my wife pointed out a dead turkey on the side of the road.
chasd00 4y ago
Can’t you drown a turkey in like a cup of coffee? I find it hard to believe these live very long while attacking a person.
- dahfizz 4y ago
  A turkey would lose a fight against a human 10 out of 10 times. But turkeys are good at being intimidating so the humans usually just run away.
  - MiddleEndian 4y ago
    To no avail, I've tried explaining to many friends and coworkers that turkeys, swans, and geese are no match for them, or even a middle schooler.
    - moron4hire 4y ago
      Whenever I'm in a group of people that want to play "share the interesting facts about yourself", I pull out "I once punched a goose". They don't usually ask for a second or third fact after that.
      - Tao332 4y ago
        Where did you punch this goose? I should think the head/bill area would be hard to hit and painful. The breast would be hard to get to on account of wings and neck. Punching a goose in the back doesn't seem sporting, but maybe it was attacking someone. Do you pick the duck-sized horses or the horse-sized duck?
        moron4hire 4y ago
        >> Where did you punch this goose? On a golf course. >> I should think the head/bill area would be hard to hit and painful. Significantly harder to hit but significantly less painful than a human head. Plus geese lead with their heads. Classic boxing mistake. I didn't hurt the bird, but a good pop did make him and his two buddies rethink trying to attack me for daring to come within 200yrds of them on the fairway. I've seen some people get upset about pace of play, but this was the first time I saw the forward group come after the back one. I went with a punch instead of the golf club I had in my hand because I didn't want to kill the bird.
duxup 4y ago
A while back fair number of turkeys were living around TCF Bank (well I guess it Huntington Bank now) Stadium in Minneapolis for a gopher football game. Urban area, 40k+ people attending a football game. And the turkeys had picked out a plot of grass next to the tailgaters and just happily hanging out like they were tailgating. Compared to rural turkeys I've encountered they were very used to / comfortable around people. I was impressed how well they adapted. Compared to rural turkeys I've encountered they were quite calm.
heelix 4y ago
Hiking through some of the wooded trails here in the Twin Cities, you can get a rafter (?) of these cruising hidden in the darkness. They certainly give off velociraptor vibes. :)
tomcam 4y ago
PP refers to it as "Our true national bird" because the ever-practical Ben Franklin championed it (unsuccessfully).
EdwardDiego 4y ago
I had to learn turkey psychology to fight off a gang of toms who had claimed my rural property as their turf. Luckily, turkey psychology is easy - if the tom perceives you as a manly turkey, you're another tom, and we need to fight to establish who is the bigger turkey. If you're perceived as a lady turkey, you're a potential date, so I'm going to inflate my gross head penis (aka snood) at you to impress you. So all I had to do was whack them in the wings with a putter when they tried to hit me with them, until they admitted I was indeed the biggest turkey. Although they still kept showing their obscene snood to my wife for a bit, until I convinced them that she was my lady turkey, and off limits.

aaronbrethorst 4y ago

I had literally never heard about this until I saw a high school friend of mine posting on Facebook yesterday about the urban turkeys in S.E. Minneapolis. I moved away from Mpls in 2003, so I assume this must have become a thing sometime in the last 19 years. Any idea about the backstory?

bombcar 4y ago
Wild turkeys abound outside the city (just like deer) - so I presume they've migrated into the city (or they're more noticeable now).
- duxup 4y ago
  I find they sort of come and go over the years. A few make their way in and then others follow, later they'll dissipate and so on.

huffmsa 4y ago

Franklin's revenge

codyogden 4y ago
Hah! Ironic that I see them mostly crossing Franklin Ave on my way to the dog park.

gullywhumper 4y ago

I used to live at 1st and Hennepin overlooking the Hennepin Ave bridge. During the lockdowns there were at least 4 times I remember either lone turkeys or small groups coming over the bridge in the middle of the day. And just yesterday, driving through the tangle of 35/94/55, my wife pointed out a dead turkey on the side of the road.

chasd00 4y ago

Can’t you drown a turkey in like a cup of coffee? I find it hard to believe these live very long while attacking a person.

dahfizz 4y ago
A turkey would lose a fight against a human 10 out of 10 times. But turkeys are good at being intimidating so the humans usually just run away.
- MiddleEndian 4y ago
  To no avail, I've tried explaining to many friends and coworkers that turkeys, swans, and geese are no match for them, or even a middle schooler.
  - moron4hire 4y ago
    Whenever I'm in a group of people that want to play "share the interesting facts about yourself", I pull out "I once punched a goose". They don't usually ask for a second or third fact after that.
    - Tao332 4y ago
      Where did you punch this goose? I should think the head/bill area would be hard to hit and painful. The breast would be hard to get to on account of wings and neck. Punching a goose in the back doesn't seem sporting, but maybe it was attacking someone. Do you pick the duck-sized horses or the horse-sized duck?
      - moron4hire 4y ago
        >> Where did you punch this goose? On a golf course. >> I should think the head/bill area would be hard to hit and painful. Significantly harder to hit but significantly less painful than a human head. Plus geese lead with their heads. Classic boxing mistake. I didn't hurt the bird, but a good pop did make him and his two buddies rethink trying to attack me for daring to come within 200yrds of them on the fairway. I've seen some people get upset about pace of play, but this was the first time I saw the forward group come after the back one. I went with a punch instead of the golf club I had in my hand because I didn't want to kill the bird.

duxup 4y ago

A while back fair number of turkeys were living around TCF Bank (well I guess it Huntington Bank now) Stadium in Minneapolis for a gopher football game. Urban area, 40k+ people attending a football game. And the turkeys had picked out a plot of grass next to the tailgaters and just happily hanging out like they were tailgating. Compared to rural turkeys I've encountered they were very used to / comfortable around people. I was impressed how well they adapted. Compared to rural turkeys I've encountered they were quite calm.

heelix 4y ago

Hiking through some of the wooded trails here in the Twin Cities, you can get a rafter (?) of these cruising hidden in the darkness. They certainly give off velociraptor vibes. :)

tomcam 4y ago

PP refers to it as "Our true national bird" because the ever-practical Ben Franklin championed it (unsuccessfully).

EdwardDiego 4y ago

I had to learn turkey psychology to fight off a gang of toms who had claimed my rural property as their turf. Luckily, turkey psychology is easy - if the tom perceives you as a manly turkey, you're another tom, and we need to fight to establish who is the bigger turkey. If you're perceived as a lady turkey, you're a potential date, so I'm going to inflate my gross head penis (aka snood) at you to impress you. So all I had to do was whack them in the wings with a putter when they tried to hit me with them, until they admitted I was indeed the biggest turkey. Although they still kept showing their obscene snood to my wife for a bit, until I convinced them that she was my lady turkey, and off limits.