Stories about wild animals in suburbia are all over the place. Bears. Coyotes. Bison. Bald eagles. How about adding turkeys to the list?

I began to see the birds walking on the streets of Wheaton in small groups. I had never seen wild turkeys in a residential area before. I quizzed people about the birds and nobody in the area was surprised by their presence.

I asked people from out of the area about the birds and they thought I was insane. I carried photos I had taken in my neighborhood to prove my sanity. People could not believe the Wheaton turkeys truly existed.

The reason this story caught my eye was because of my own encounter years ago with a rafter of turkeys along the Prairie Path. Because I came upon the turkeys quickly and then passed through them, I did not have much time then – nor have devoted attention since – to considering where the turkeys came from or where they went. The county has a lot of forest preserve land; perhaps there are turkeys all over the place in those spaces?

The sight of wild creatures in the suburbs may astound but I would guess many suburbanites would be hard pressed to show where animals live in the suburbs. They might be able to find the rabbits that live under their deck but where did that fox come from? Or where do those Canadian geese go at night? Does that circling hawk live nearby? And so on. The suburbs may offer their residents proximity to nature but that nature can be elusive.