See Your Food

There's a turkey on your table today, and there's probably a turkey in your neighborhood, too --  at least if you live in the Eastern half of the United States.  Although they were hunted nearly to extinction by the early 1900s, conservation efforts over the last hundred years have let wild turkeys stage a comeback. And they've come back with a vengeance, spreading even into suburban and urban areas where no one expected they would thrive. They're big birds, which intimidates some people, but fortunately they're not terribly aggressive. Unless you're faced with a tom, and it's the spring breeding season. If that happens, the turkey's confused. It thinks you're a rival for the local hens. So instead of running away, let it know you're dominant (without hurting it, of course). MassWildlife suggests smacking it with a broom.