Wild turkeys. Maybe wild and crazy turkeys

Wednesday morning, two turkeys stopped traffic along 5th Street in east Greeley, challenging the drivers and sometimes block-

ing the road as people drove to work.

In addition to stopping traffic, the turkeys are getting more bold. Recently, one east Greeley family reported a turkey knocking on their front door. They called animal control officers.

Greeley's animal control officers have been called out on turkeys before, although there's not much they can do about the big birds.

“They're wild animals,” said Sgt. Susie West. “We can call the Department of Wildlife, but other than chase them away, we can't do anything.”

At the DOW, Officer Brandon Muller said there are now thousands of turkeys along the South Platte and Poudre rivers in northeastern Colorado. “The turkey population has exploded over the last two years,” Muller said.

The turkeys that were blocking 5th Street off and on Wednesday were in front of Colorado Equipment, a John Deere dealership. Manager Daniel Lowe said the turkeys have been in the area about three months, since the Colorado Department of Transportation blocked the U.S. 85 bypass for construction work.

“We're not sure why they moved over here,” Lowe said, “But I've seen as many as six of them at a time.”

According to West, a couple of months ago, animal control officers received a call from an east Greeley resident who said a turkey was knocking on their front door.

“We found out the turkey must have seen his reflection in the door glass,” West said, “and thought it was another turkey and started pecking at it.”

Turkeys have never been known for their intelligence.

For those who are interested, fall turkey season opens on Sept. 1. But Greeley police Sgt. Joe Tymkowych was quick to note that it is illegal to hunt turkeys inside the Greeley city limits.