ST. JOHN'S, N.L. -- Turkeys are strutting through the streets of St. John's, N.L., where officials remain baffled by the sudden appearance of a species that is not native to the province.
Lisa Bokelmann Sells was shooting photos of the sunrise at Harbourside Park on a mid-October morning when she heard radio reports of a loose turkey wandering down Signal Hill Road.
She decided to investigate and soon spotted the white-plumed bird on Temperance Street.
"I turned the corner on ... and there he was, just standing there. I was killing myself laughing," Bokelmann Sells said, referring to a photo of the bird, posed against the backdrop of four heritage buildings.
"He looks gorgeous, doesn't he?"
Her photos have been shared widely, as well as other photos documenting the recent spate of mostly unexplained sightings that ironically picked up around the Thanksgiving weekend.
The province's Fisheries and Land Resources Department has received six reports of turkeys roaming the city, saying these sighting are a first for the department.
The province does not have a documented wild turkey population, and government officials suspect the birds are domesticated animals that have escaped or were released.
The Temperance Street turkey turned out to be a domestic bird from the city's Battery neighbourhood. He flew the coop during an overnight windstorm.
But the mystery of the other birds' origins remains.
Officials say no permits have been issued for the release of wild turkeys, which are typically smaller and darker than their domesticated cousins.
There are several turkey producers in the province, but there is no registry for turkey ownership.
Marc Altese, general manager of Clovelly Golf Club, says people started spotting turkeys on the premises in early October.
Since then, approximately five birds have been seen wandering the grounds -- including one confident specimen seen strutting outside his window early Thursday.
Bill Montevecchi, a bird specialist at Memorial University in St. John's, thinks the turkeys are domestic escapees.
Montevecchi said Newfoundland's harsh winters would make it difficult for turkeys to survive a full year, but reports from the island's more temperate west coast indicate that a small population of the birds have survived in the wild through the winter.
Turkeys have been successfully re-introduced to the wild in Massachusetts and New England, Montevecchi said, noting that New England's chilly winters are comparable to Newfoundland's.
Non-native animals have been accidentally introduced to the island's ecosystem before. Imported mink, for example, began escaping from fur farms in the mid-twentieth century and have since grown into a significant wild population.
Montevecchi said attempts to introduce other birds like ring-necked pheasants have been unsuccessful, but the wandering turkey escapees may prove an exception.
"They're pretty tough birds," he said.
