Gobble! Gobble! Hiss! Hiss! Or . . .

Turkeys strutting down the city street

Just another urban bird / cat encounter?

Flock of Turkeys just before the cat encounter

During a stroll in fading daylight at 4:30 pm, I turn a corner a block up from our lovely neighborhood creek, Codornices, and come upon a few mature male wild Turkeys foraging in a curbside garden.

Kitty about to get out of her league

To many, meh, what's a couple of dumbf**k Turkeys. But to a lover of birds, this is totally COOL!

Wild Tom up in the hills

On the eve of this hallowed Thanksgiving holiday, the Turkeys' presence is a manifest symbol, a visceral reminder of the sad treatment of these delightfully quirky birds, whose 16 pound bodies will sate the ornithophagus palates of nearly 90% of Americans tomorrow.

Family of Wild Turkeys on the move at Mount Diablo State Park

Outnumbered 254,000,000 (raised) to 7,000,000 (wild) nationwide, the small wild Turkey contingent of Berkeley, hallelujah, freely roams, is fully protected, and blissfully ignorant of the fate of 46,000,000 of their overfed kind, most of them factory-farm produced, artificially bred with antibiotics and hormones, often mistreated, and pumped out as grotesquely deformed creatures for mass consumption.

Range free beautiful bird

Our Turkey friends are nonchalantly browsing, perturbed by nothing, not passing cars, not us, not even by a young black cat eyeballing their every move intently in semi-stalk mode. I stop to observe what might happen next.

No city kitty but bobcats and coyotes will hunt Wild Turkeys

The too young to know better cat is entranced, probably first time in her little life she's seen the big ol' obstreperous Meleagris gallopavo, thinking, maybe, how delicious-looking, but forget about taking one down . . .

Fantailing indicates defensive high alert

Suddenly emboldened, she pounces toward one, approaching shyly, then backs off the second defensive partner who raises a threatening head and furiously fans his tail as pretty as a Peacock's.

These guys are being protective of their poults

Retreating under a car, the cat maintains her intense vigil, twice emerging to confront the grazing Turkeys, but never brave enough to engage in deadly battle. But this same cute precious kitty would not hesitate to engage in, and win overpoweringly, a confrontation with a helpless and endangered songbird.

Poult on the move to  keep up with mama

Finally, the Pavo brothers have had enough, and intimidate the cat into permanent retreat with feather-ruffling histrionics and threatening pokes of their armored beaks.

Kitty probably has eye on a songbird

I know, I know, you probably had to be there . . .

Turkey pair foraging in Tilden Park

You never know what you'll see on the streets of Berkeley, where wild Turkeys and deer forage, raccoon and possum prowl about, mountain lions stalk, Cooper's Hawks lurk, and birds of many a feather find city living quite convenient and enjoyable.

Deer in the middle of the sidewalk

Thanks to the many forested parks and creeks

to be found in the East Bay

and all of the Bay Area.

Trees
capturing the golden light