Manhattan has a new unlikely feathered friend, and she’s visiting luxury retailers, dining at high-end restaurants and roosting in Park Avenue’s densest, greenest trees.
Known as Astoria, the wild turkey is about as tall as a toddler, with iridescent hues of orange and blue in her brown feathers, an elegant neck, a healthy figure and wings that have helicopter-like strength. Her unusual appearance in Manhattan this week has once again drummed up excitement, bemusement and a growing following of New Yorkers fascinated by the wild fowl’s adventures — and concerned for its safety — in the Big Apple.
She has so far eluded capture.
David Barrett, a birder who runs the Manhattan Bird Alert account on X, was out in Central Park with his camera when he received an alert from a birding website after 5 p.m. on Tuesday about a wild turkey sighting in Midtown Manhattan. He headed to the corner of 49th Street and Park Avenue, where he said the bird nestled in a planter outside of Fasano, a high-end Italian restaurant.
Most likely, Astoria flew across the East River, making a pit stop either on Roosevelt Island or the Queensboro Bridge. She may have even walked across the bridge. Where she was before Queens is a mystery, but whatever her path, Astoria seems quite pleased with Midtown as her base.
She has largely stayed close to 49th Street and Park Avenue, eating blueberries presented to her by the staff at Fasano, exploring the avenue’s median and foraging in other nearby planters for juicy worms. At night, she roosts in trees. On Wednesday evening, Astoria checked out Saks Fifth Avenue, a New York landmark known for its luxury designers. David Lei, a birder and photographer who has closely followed Astoria, said she perched atop the awning. A store associate suggested that Astoria should be invited to next year’s Met Gala.
It appears that even Astoria is becoming fascinated by herself. Mr. Lei said he had observed Astoria admiring her own reflection in some mirrored pillars at 280 Park Avenue, an office building. “She is very cute actually,” Mr. Lei said, adding that “people don’t typically describe turkeys as cute.”
But her relaxed, calm demeanor is also cause for concern. Though Astoria has mostly trotted along the sidewalk or flown across the street, there have been close encounters with traffic. Several birders have had to escort her across the street, much to the aggravation of some cabbies.
There have been attempts to safely rescue her. The Wild Bird Fund, which runs a rehabilitation center in Manhattan, made an attempt on Wednesday using two blankets, a large hand-held net, a box and assistance from other bystanders, said Rita McMahon, the fund’s director. Ms. McMahon said her organization — which typically does not perform such operations — had previously rescued a wild turkey along Columbus Avenue by encircling it. But that bird was sick, she said, and not as vibrant, healthy or full-feathered as Astoria.
“She is such an athlete — she just went straight up,” Ms. McMahon said, estimating that the bird soared about 10 feet above their heads. “She looked at us and said, ‘I have no trouble flying over your reach.’”
Ms. McMahon advises against feeding Astoria, because that will encourage her to stay. The hope for now is that she finds a safe area, rather than roaming the city. “She really is under her own navigation,” Ms. McMahon said.
Her appearance itself is a sign of the success of conservationists’ efforts to restore and protect wild turkeys, whose populations have rebounded after they were hunted nearly to extinction in the 19th century, according to the New York City Audubon.
Early Friday morning, birders including Mr. Lei and Mr. Barrett were waiting for a dry moment to go check on Astoria at her last known location in a tree near 51st Street and Park Avenue, close to St. Bartholomew’s Church. She flew there after a failed capture attempt Thursday evening, they said.
