Wild turkeys on Hamilton mountain

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If you’ve driven by the Mountain Brow lately you may have noticed a pair of wild turkeys strutting their stuff at the side of the road.

As Cindy Csordas reports, while turkeys are typically shy — and rarely come near people — this couple seems to enjoy cozying up to curious bystanders.

If you’ve never seen a wild turkey, take a drive down the Mountain Brow Bouldevard in Hamilton.

Experts say they’re not normally an aggressive bird.

They’re both males, according to Paul Smith, who’s with the Hamilton Naturalist Club. He says the birds have become accustomed to people but that onlookers should just look at them.

“Certainly don’t feed them. There’s parallels here with Canada Geese and deer, obviously there’s an attraction to getting close to them and feeding them but it can only cause trouble down the road. They get too close to people and associate people with food and they can get aggressive if they don’t have that natural fear.”

Paul Smith believes there are hundreds of wild turkeys in the Hamilton area and says they’re becoming more and more common in suburban parts of Southern Ontario.

There are no turkey crossing signs posted yet. So if you round the bend at the Mountain Brow by the Mohawk 4 Ice Centre, be prepared to stop for these turkeys.