$1.00
November 25, 2021
ADAMS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
Northglenn-ThorntonSentinel.com
VOLUME 58 | ISSUE 16
Roaming gobblers find a home in Eastlake From car tops to intersections, traveling turkeys have no reason to leave BY LUKE ZARZECKI LZARZECKI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
At Lisa Anne’s Bakery in Thornton, John Walter regularly spies wild turkeys roaming around the area near the Eastlake and 124th Avenue transit station. “They just roam around here,” said John Walter, who has worked at the bakery for seven years. Walter said he sees a group of about 20 turkeys at least two times a week, but he usually works inside the store. Customers say they see them almost every day. Walter used to throw pecans for the birds, and they came at the same time looking for the nuts. Many smells out of the bakery may lead some turkeys to their doorstep. Wild turkeys are opportunistic foragers, meaning they feast on a wide variety of prey. According to the National Wild Turkey Federation, about 85 percent of their food intake is vegetable matter and 15 percent animal matter. The birds also have a unique system of communication. “Their vocabulary consists of 28 distinct calls. Each sound has a general meaning and can be used for different situations. Male turkeys are notorious for their iconic gobble which, unlike other calls, is given with a fixed intensity,” the NWTF website says. Nancy Peters, a resident of Thornton, mentioned how homes in the neighborhood near the Eastlake and 124th transit station will leave food on their front lawn for the turkeys to nibble on. She lives south of 120th Avenue and often sees the turkeys roaming from neighborhood to neighborhood.
A turkey sits on top of a house to sleep for the night.
Generally, wild turkeys will walk about a mile or two within a day on their home range, which can vary between 370 and 1,360 acres. About 90 percent of their waking hours are feeding and are guided by their need for food and water, according to the NWFT. Peters, a 41-year-resident of Thornton, notes the populations of turkeys seemingly declined over the past 10 years. She blames development and the new RTD parking lot at the Eastlake and 124th transit station. “They used to live on this field right here, and look at what RTD did,” Peters said, pointing at the transit station’s parking lot. Then she points to the turkeys sitting in the tree on the corner of Second Street and 124th Avenue during dusk. “They use that house over there, the roof of it, and a couple of the trees there,” she said. “There’s no space for wildlife.” SEE TURKEYS, P3
PHOTOS BY LUKE ZARZECKI
Five turkeys roam around before joining the flock in the tree above to sleep for the night.
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 8 | LIFE: PAGE 10 | CALENDAR: PAGE 12 | SPORTS: PAGE 13
TAPPING TALENT
Artists help to define local beer scene P10