WTFlock? A turkey takes NYC!
She’s gobbling up city life.
A rare wild turkey (right) was spotted strutting her stuff around Manhattan Wednesday — dodging traffic and roosting in a tree after an epic journey across the East River from Queens.
The brassy bird spent a full day foraging for food in the urban jungle, near 49th Street and Madison Avenue, beginning Tuesday — delighting and surprising onlookers, according to footage and local birders.
“It’s so extremely uncommon for a turkey to be in a place like Manhattan,” said David Barrett, who runs a popular birding account on X. “This is a healthy bird that can fly 40 or 50 miles an hour. She won’t be easy to catch. She’s a survivor.”
The bird was first reported hightailing it around Long Island City on May 2 via the bird-tracking database ebird.org, Barrett said.
Despite being able to fly only short distances, she miraculously made it three miles across the East River before strolling into Midtown — where she was caught on camera weaving around traffic in a busy crosswalk next to a construction site.
“There’s a traffic risk, but so far she’s doing well, she’s staying on sidewalks and off of streets,” Barrett said. “A rescue may be needed if she can’t make it to Central Park for food.”
Between 2003 and 2014, a wild turkey named Zelda famously lived downtown in Battery Park.
A turkey hasn’t been spotted in Central Park since 2017.
A rep from Animal Care Centers of NYC said the agency had no plans Wednesday to bag the bird.
Animal control generally prioritizes rescuing animals that pose a threat to people or themselves.