It's definitely not Thanksgiving, but I am so thankful to have seen a wild turkey in Central Park on Saturday. Apparently the bird started up north, and was working his way down the park by the time I saw him in the afternoon just east of the Falconer statue. We immediately called him Franklin, in honor of Ben Franklin, who I understand wanted this bird to be our national bird. Frankie, in case he was actually a she, but from photos on Audubon, pretty sure it's a he!
Wild turkey in Central Park, April 22, 2017
This bird will probably find lots of food in the park (I heard he was foraging closer to Columbus Circle on Sunday). Apparently these big birds eat almost anything (hope he stays off the French fries and pizza, though). I do hope Franklin stays safe and out of the way of traffic. Of course, I did a Filming the Feather video, which I set to music by Max Bruch, performed by Ben Redwine and obtained from MusOpen.org, a royalty-free music source. Enjoy it here:
This is not the first wild turkey I've seen in New York City. In 2013, before I started the Filming the Feather series, I filmed BigBird at the Staten Island Ferry terminal in Lower Manhattan. I found out later her name was Zelda, and was a popular resident at the south end of Manhattan. Zelda was later run over by a car, but I was so happy to have made her acquaintance.
Of course, I took pictures!
Franklin, a wild turkey near the Falconer's statue, Central Park, April 22, 2017
