Tags:The first time I ever observed wild turkeys, I was a
fourth- or fifth-grader bow hunting with my father in north-
central Colorado's Flat Tops Wilderness. The majority of the
flock was slowly working its way through miles of sagebrush,
feeding with heads down. We watched them for about an hour
through a spotting scope. But several birds continually kept
their heads up, watching for predators. Alert, flock-oriented,
protective of their young ... that's the type of turkey Ben
Franklin was talking about when he wrote to his daughter in
1784, "I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the
Representative of our country. ... The Turk'y is in comparison a
much more respectable Bird." But it's a decidedly different sort
of turkey that has now taken up residence in Asheville. For the
last nine months, I've been remodeling a house in north
Asheville, and in that time, the local flock working the
neighborhood has doubled in size. Given the right conditions in
terms of daylight, temperature, food sources and nesting