When someone told me about the wild turkeys in NYC, I thought they were joking. Can you imagine a Turkey running around Manhattan or another borough? I can’t. But it turns out you can find these wild birds in NYC - well, kind of.
I took a deep dive into the Web and Reddit and made a list of the locations that New Yorkers recommend checking while searching for while turkeys in the city.
Where Do the Turkeys Live?
The first thing I need to mention is that turkeys don’t exactly live in New York; they are known to live on Staten Island. Many New Yorkers don’t consider Staten Island part of NYC. Having that said, Staten is only a short commute from New York, which is why any New Yorker technically has access to the areas where wild turkeys roam around freely.
The List of Places You Should Check
Here is the list of places to check for these wild birds, all in Staten Island.
The Number One Spot: University Hospital
I found an overwhelming amount of posts saying you should check out the Staten Island University Hospital if you’d like to spot a rafter of wild turkeys.
The North Campus of the SI University Hospital is a prime spot for this type of wildlife. Most Reddits swear by this place. All you have to do is drive to the Hospital’s parking lot, and you won’t have to wait long. If the turkeys don’t show up right away, you can walk around the North Campus; most of the time, they are there.
In the event you don’t find any turkeys at the North Campus, there are reportedly many at the South Beach Psych Center.
Other Popular Spots
Apart from the University Hospital, which seems to be a prime spot, you can give the following areas a chance:
- Hylan Boulevard. This option requires a car since this boulevard stretches through the entire island. Jump into a car and drive through Staten Island - and you’re almost guaranteed to see a wild turkey or two.
- Verrazano Bridge. It’s located not too far from the Uni Hospital and serves as a gate to Staten Island. You won’t see turkeys exactly on the bridge, but as you enter SI and get off the bridge, you can see many in nearby parks and on the shore.
- Greenbelt. The Staten Island Greenbelt Blue Trail inside Deere Park is where you can see some turkeys. This is also where you can sometimes see deer.
- Clay Pit Ponds State Park. I couldn’t find a particular place where flocks of wild turkeys run around endlessly gobbling, but this park is quite pretty, which is you may want to spend some time going through it and “hunting” for the birds. Only photo-hunting, please!
Conclusion
I’ll be the first to confess: I have not seen a wild turkey in New York or nearby. I haven’t spotted one on Staten Island, either. But researching this topic made me curious. Maybe I’ll travel to this area and return with a photo report for you!
But for now, if you wish to explore NYC and Staten Island for the presence of wild gobbling birds - be my guest. The list of places you may want to check out is above.
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