Stop NARCing On NYC's Wild Turkey, Advocates Say

NEW YORK CITY — People keep calling the cops on Astoria, the wild turkey loose in Manhattan — and her advocates have had enough of it.

The mealworm-eating New Yorker has been running around Manhattan for two weeks now. Her latest run-in with the cops was on Sunday morning in the West Village, the New York City Police Department told Patch.

According to the NYPD, the police received a 911 call at 7:56 a.m. on Sunday about a large turkey at the corner of West Houston Street and West Street. When police officers arrived, she evaded capture and flew away, police told Patch.

"Do not call authorities on her, do not call 911, do not call 311, almost certainly she is fine," David Barrett, an Upper East Sider who runs the Manhattan Bird Alert Twitter account, told Patch on Monday.

Barrett is one of the birders who tracks her whereabouts, brings her food and checks in on her daily.

"She's a gentle, friendly turkey, so she's no risk to anyone else, and these capture attempts have caused a lot of stress, and they expose her to a heavy risk of injury, so it's best just to do nothing," Barrett said.

In footage posted to Twitter on Sunday morning, two officers can be seen walking after her, with a cop car driving around with a kennel in the trunk.

New Yorkers have called the police on the turkey several times in the past two weeks, Barrett said. Each time, she's evaded capture.

After Sunday's attempted capture, the Wild Bird Fund — New York City's wildlife rehabilitation and education center — wrote to the NYPD directly.

"Please don't try to catch Astoria the turkey @NYPD6Pct. She will leave on her own. Attempts to capture her only put her in danger," the organization tweeted.

For whoever finds Astoria next, Barrett recommends enjoying her from a distance and reaching out to the birders of Manhattan Bird Alert here, who take care of her.

"She is truly a wild turkey, just as her species name implies," Barrett said. "She gets to fly wherever she wants to, and right now that's where she wants to be."

So far, she's been to Midtown East, the Upper East Side, Central Park, the West Village and Washington Square Park. Astoria was in Battery Park Monday afternoon, Barrett said.

If you see Astoria, please email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.