Ask most Michiganders about the hazards of driving in a state full of wildlife and you’re likely to hear about run-ins with deer. But on a recent Saturday afternoon, a different kind of traffic hazard asserted itself as a fully grown male turkey stood in a northbound lane of Carpenter Rd., facing off with a similarly full-sized SUV.
The turkey was fighting above his weight class—males max out at about twenty-five pounds, compared to 5,000 pounds for the average midsize SUV—but he seemed unintimidated. On that afternoon he had no reason to be, as he single-handedly shut down travel between Home Depot and Aldi during prime errands-running time.
It wasn’t the first time a turkey blocked traffic here. In 2015, an unusually aggressive specimen on North Campus lounged in the road, harassed commuting students getting on and off the campus buses, and occasionally tried to board the buses himself before being relocated. In Ypsilanti Township, Whittaker the Turkey spent much of 2017 as a local folk hero and the guardian (and frequent disruptor) of the traffic circle at Whittaker and Textile roads. When Whittaker was killed by a car in July of that year, he received tributes everywhere from local Facebook groups to the Atlantic.
Turkeys were reintroduced in the 1950s, and Audubon Great Lakes estimates that there are currently around 200,000 statewide. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s eBird map shows recent sightings all around the Ann Arbor area, including the Barnes & Noble parking lot and the traffic circle at Geddes and Superior roads. City ornithologist Juliet Berger reports that another favorite hangout is the Wheeler Service Center, where the birds like to help themselves to scraps from the city’s compost windrows. Sightings are likely on the uptick because spring is a naturally active time for the birds, when their breeding season is triggered by a hormonal response to the lengthening days.
When faced with an aggressive turkey, Wayne Petersen from the Massachusetts Audubon Society stresses the importance of not showing fear. Rather than backing away, he advised in a 2019 Nova episode, wave your arms, clap your hands, and move toward the turkey. That should intimidate it, he said, “without too much problem.”
