Citizen science, questionable intentions.

The city belongs
to the turkeys.

On the sidewalk. In the treetops. Possibly plotting.
Help Cambridge keep an eye on its most self-assured residents.

Report and map wild turkey sightings across Cambridge, Massachusetts. No need to wing it.

They have no appointments.
They own the intersection.Observations from the field

Community sightings map. Optional sample sightings are fictional and hidden by default. Community reports appear publicly after automated checks; photos appear only after review and approval. Privacy & submissions ↗

REPORTED MOOD Passive/clucking Conspiratorial Ornery Outright hostility Amorous

↗ Tap to report. Near a pin, choose view or report.

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500 m

Drag to pan · Pinch to zoom · ◎ Locate Me shows your position · Tap any map location to report, including near existing sightingsMajor streets · Cambridge GIS

Observe from a distance. This is an independent community project, unaffiliated with the City of Cambridge or MassWildlife. The turkeys have not consented to a personality assessment.

Inspired by Newton’s coyote map ↗

The Hall of Plumage

Greatest turkey photo of all time?

Explore approved photos submitted by Cambridge neighbors. Cast a vote for the bird most deserving of immortality.

Browse the gallery →

Independent fieldwork worth celebrating

Turkeys in Public Space

Jeff Fossett’s earlier project, with collaborator Quinn Raymond, celebrates urban turkeys through community photographs, stories, and a zine. Highly recommended.

Visit their project ↗

Field guide · facts first

Living with turkeys

A quick Cambridge guide to sharing sidewalks with the city’s most confident pedestrians. The practical answers below link to MassWildlife, the City of Cambridge, and local reporting.

Why are there turkeys in Cambridge?

Massachusetts wild turkeys disappeared by 1851. In the early 1970s, wildlife officials reintroduced 37 birds from New York to the Berkshires. Their descendants spread; MassWildlife estimated 30,000–35,000 statewide in 2024. Urban Cambridge offers food, trees, and plenty of places to strut. [1] [2]

Are they dangerous?

Usually they are best admired from a distance, but habituated turkeys can intimidate, chase, or injure people, particularly during the March–May breeding season. A Cambridge mail carrier suffered a serious injury after a 2023 encounter. Give birds space and never feed them. [2] [5] [6]

A turkey is sizing me up. What should I do?

For a bold or aggressive turkey, MassWildlife advises you to stand your ground, keep the bird in front of you, avoid running, and make yourself look larger. Loud noises or an open umbrella can help deter it. [3] [4]

Can I feed them?

No. Feeding, including spilled birdseed, can concentrate turkeys and make them less wary of people. MassWildlife recommends removing bird feeders and using native plants to welcome smaller birds instead. [3]

Why is a turkey attacking my car or window?

It may be treating its reflection as another turkey. Cover or disguise reflective surfaces to break the standoff. [3] [4]

There’s a turkey on my roof. Is that normal?

Yes. Turkeys roost in trees and sometimes use human-made structures. If they become a nuisance, remove food attractants and follow MassWildlife’s nonlethal deterrence advice. [2] [3]

A hen is nesting in my yard. What now?

Turkey nests and eggs are legally protected. MassWildlife says you may deter a hen to encourage her to nest elsewhere, but do not handle or move eggs or an established nest. If you are unsure what to do, ask MassWildlife for guidance. [3]

Who should I call?

For an aggressive, sick, or injured wild turkey, Cambridge directs residents to the Massachusetts Environmental Police 24-hour dispatch at 800-632-8075. For other Cambridge animal concerns, contact the Cambridge Animal Commission at 617-349-4376 or animalcommission@cambridgema.gov. For general wildlife advice, call MassWildlife at 508-389-6300 (weekdays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.). If a person is in immediate danger, call 911. Submitting a sighting here does not notify any agency. [3] [4] [7]

Sources and further reading

What the Turkeys Don’t Want You to Know

Satire, not wildlife advice. Unverified field intelligence; please do not cite the cabal.

What are they actually doing out there?

Surveillance. That aimless scratching along Huron Avenue? Grid search. Biologists call it a pecking order; we call it a chain of command.

Why do they stop traffic on Mass Ave?

Mass Ave connects both campuses. They have mapped the crosswalks, and they are timing the lights.

Why do they peck at windows?

The official explanation is territorial confusion. The unofficial explanation is a one-way-glass audit of Kendall Square.

Who’s in charge?

Unconfirmed. Persistent sightings near the Law School suggest an active legal division.

What if one approaches me?

Follow the real guidance above. They respect preparation. They are also taking notes.

Ask the Flock Keeper

Questions of governance, ethics, jurisdiction, and other matters the birds have declined to address. Satire, not legal or wildlife advice.

Could Tyson Foods misuse this intelligence?

Fret not. I have combed the state statutes and concluded that Cambridge's turkeys enjoy a surprisingly elaborate legal defense perimeter.

Wild turkey hunting requires licenses, permits, and an open season. Massachusetts prohibits discharging firearms or arrows within 150 feet of a state or hard-surfaced highway, and generally restricts hunting within 500 feet of an occupied building without permission.

I'm reasonably certain that encompasses approximately ALL of Cambridge.

I briefly proposed that the Department of Avian Zoning designate every shrub a protected sanctuary. The department has yet to acknowledge my jurisdiction.

A constituent has proposed a Fresh Pond loophole: a turkey on the frozen center of the reservoir might be more than 500 feet from the nearest occupied building. The Water Board anticipated this maneuver. Fresh Pond Reservation Rule 4 prohibits hunting or trapping birds there, and even possessing a firearm or bow. Rule 2 prohibits people from swimming in the pond. Whether the 399 turkeys allegedly observed underwater qualify as persons for regulatory purposes has been referred to the Department of Avian Zoning.

Ultimately, I cannot guarantee that Tyson Foods isn't studying this map with an eye toward turning Cambridge into a vertically integrated, locally sourced poultry operation. What I can assure you is that it would first have to survive the Cambridge permitting process.

Real-world caveat: this map is publicly accessible, and hunting restrictions cannot guarantee how anyone may use its information. Do not approach wildlife. Consult MassWildlife's hunting regulations, wild turkey rules, and Mass. Gen. Laws c. 269, § 12E for the actual rules and exceptions.

What do we name them?

I must challenge the anthropocentric privilege baked into the question. By what authority does Homo sapiens name Meleagris gallopavo? Given their demonstrably superior command of our sidewalks, shouldn't they be naming us? For all we know, they already have. I suspect the names are unflattering.

When will you expand to Somerville or Brookline?

In response to the deluge of requests to expand into neighboring municipalities, let me clarify the scope of this enterprise.

I have already spent $8.50 registering cambridgeturkeywatch.org, to say nothing of the branding, marketing, and painstaking development of our internationally unrecognized behavioral taxonomy. The suggestion that I should spend another $8.50 on cambervilleturkeywatch.org is fiscally reckless.

Moreover, what turkeys do in other precincts is, quite frankly, none of my concern. We are attempting to assess avian disposition under reasonably consistent conditions.

Requiring the subjects to reside in Somerville, or worse, Brookline, would introduce profound geographic confounding. I shudder to think how strongly those circumstances would skew our results toward ornery or outright hostile.

This is a Cambridge study. We must preserve scientific rigor, even if we cannot demonstrate any.

For the humans nominally in charge

Contact the Flock Keeper

Something amiss in the flock? Request a correction or removal, report a technical problem, or send us other turkey-related correspondence. This is not an animal-control or emergency service.

Send a message

Transparency for humans and turkeys alike

Privacy & Submissions

Reports and field notes appear publicly; photographs require approval. Public map coordinates are rounded, but that does not guarantee anonymity. Please avoid identifying people or private residences.

Read the full Privacy & Submissions notice → · Request a correction or removal

The city belongs
to the turkeys.

Greatest turkey photo of all time?

Turkeys in Public Space

Living with turkeys

Contact the Flock Keeper

Privacy & Submissions

What would you like to do?

A turkey has been spotted.

The city belongsto the turkeys.

The flock, mapped

Greatest turkey photo of all time?

Turkeys in Public Space

Living with turkeys

Contact the Flock Keeper

Privacy & Submissions

The city belongs
to the turkeys.