A Whole Bunch of Turkeys

A Madison turkey. 9/29/2012 dwm

It would be difficult to convince people who live in the city of Madison; in the Driftless; or up north, but 50 years ago there were no turkeys in Wisconsin.

The last wild turkey was seen near Darlington in the southwest corner of the state in 1881. They disappeared because of unregulated hunting; habitat loss; and disease.

Fifty years later there are approximately 350,000. 

As a kid in the mid-to-late 1970s and early 80s; I heard about the program to reintroduce a wild bird. At the time, the odds of seeing a bald eagle or a wild turkey in America's Dairyland was the same, highly unlikely.

A trio of turkeys. 5/3/2015 dwm

 Tomorrow, January 21 marks 50 years since a plane from Missouri's Department of Conservation landed with Wisconsin's best opportunity to reintroduce them.

 Leading up to that day were failed attempts with farm-raised turkeys that didn't work, but this time Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) found the right habitat and arranged to trade Ruffed Grouse to Missouri in return for 20 hens and 9 gobblers.

 This plan worked so well, the DNR held the first spring turkey hunt in 1983 and six years later created an autumn season.  Both birds, the eagle and the turkey are now found in all 72 Wisconsin counties.

Seen on a ride near Shawano. 6/10/2021 dwm

I work on Madison's west side on a campus that serves as a home for 500 and a workplace for another 200 more. 

On most days, you can see three goblers strutting around like they own the place. A month or so after mating season, you'll see more as hens shepherd their chicks as they scoot around looking for something to eat.

They aren't as majestic as an eagle in flight but on bright days when the sun shines on their wings, the turkeys with their red wattle and dark eyes are a sight it's great to see in 2026.