The first bird stood in the way, shaking with its feathers one Thursday afternoon in October, before the next four appeared.
These five goblins made a proper herd as they clicked, spun, and roamed through a Point Richmond neighborhood on their way to their next meal, which could have included berries, roots, insects, small reptiles, or amphibians.
When the herd reached a dead end, the exalted “brave birds” – as Benjamin Franklin once called them – provided a visual metaphor for the shortage and supply chain problems that left Bay Area residents and Americans struggling to put enough food on their tables this Thanksgiving .
We are the hungry turkeys that fall short in our search for animal-based protein this holiday, as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 13.6% increase in meat, fish, poultry and egg prices year-on-year, and Bay Area’s food banks have been reporting more accurate peaks in the past three months.
But it’s not like hunting the hungry Bay Area birds at the end of the road in Point Richmond would be an option for everyone: Potential hunters need a permit from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to hunt the largest game birds. in the north. America for the season, which runs through December 26th. Even then, hunters can only kill three of the male urban pests daily after the first two days of the season.
California introduced turkeys to the environment over the last century, primarily to be hunted. The winged transplants – native to the Texas Hill Country near San Antonio and Austin and known as Rio Grande wild turkeys – defecate on patios and decks, destroying flowers and kitchen gardens and resting or sleeping on cars on about 20% of state land. They can even be “threatening local ecosystems”, depending on who you ask and what study you read.
To learn more, check out the state Guide to hunting the wild turkey, complete with an anatomical chart so readers can sort a caruncle from a lap and a buttocks from a snood. And while California wild turkeys can be safe to eat before sticking a fork in one, consider that the birds have never asked to be brought here.
.
