These Turkeys Are Going To the Beach For Thanksgiving

We'll skip dinner and go straight to the beach, thanks.

Not all turkeys will be overcooked and mostly ignored in favor of the tasty stuffing and wine this Thanksgiving. These birds live wild and free in Morro Bay, California — the feral turkeys hang around the golf course for a few hours, and then head down the stairs to the beach.

America's holy bird.

The wild turkey isn’t usually found in California. This population was introduced by the state’s Department of Fish and Game in 1965. (Not so long ago, this is what you could expect of a government wildlife agency: intentional introduction of non-native and invasive species.)

These birds exhibit all the qualities that Benjamin Franklin loved about America’s wild turkeys:

“For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America… He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on.”

Photos by Teddy Llovet via Flickr Creative Commons.