No Leftovers At This Feast Sharp-Eyed Eagles Whittle Game Preserve’s Flock Of Turkeys Down To One

So he spent Thanksgiving alone. There are worse ways to while away the holiday, especially for a turkey.

Tom is the lone survivor of a flock of wild turkeys at Northwest Trek, a 600-acre park and wildlife preserve south of here between Puyallup and Eatonville.

But his vanished relatives were not among the millions of birds served to gatherings of friends and family on Thursday. Turns out that eagles, the national bird, are happy to celebrate with turkey any day.

But the gorge-fest is over. Except for Tom, the turkeys - residents of the park since the 1970s with a peak population of about 200 in the mid-1980s - are all gone.

“It’s like ‘Last of the Mohicans,”’ said Northwest Trek’s curator, David Ellis. “Tourists come up and ask, ‘Hey, where did all the turkeys go?”’

The flock grew from a dozen birds shipped from Pennsylvania. The turkeys were kept near hoofed animals, safely fenced off from the bears or bobcats. For years, they flourished.

But by the end of the 1980s, the population was on a downward slide, the number of baby birds dwindling. Unseasonably cold, wet weather claimed some hatchlings, and egg-stealing skunks took their toll.

About the same time, sharp-eyed eagles noticed the birds.

The powerful raptors realized the turkeys were regularly crossing a park road, where they were exposed and vulnerable, and “just picked them off,” Ellis said.

Despite their strong legs, powerful wings and considerable smarts - qualities long lost in domesticated turkeys - the wild flock had no chance against the eagles’ plunging attacks and punishing talons.

The lone survivor, believed to be about 5 years old, seems to have learned from his relatives’ misfortunes. He steers clear of roads, favors thick vegetation and shows some well-honed survival skills.

“He obviously has good genetic potential for offspring but, um, there are no hens around for him to do that,” Ellis said.

Park officials considered placing the turkeys under protective netting, but the plan was nixed as taking away from the park’s natural setting. And they have voted against restocking the turkey population.

Tom’s on his own.