By Gus Saltonstall
There is a new celebrity bird making headlines: Astoria, the wild turkey.
For the last week, Astoria has been spotted repeatedly on the Upper East Side after leaving her home on Roosevelt Island — most likely on the search for a mate, according to bird experts.
On multiple occasions, police officers have tried to capture Astoria, but attempts have remained unsuccessful. Her adventure through Manhattan has been covered by The New York Times, New York Post, ABC7, The Times of London, and more.
On Sunday, Astoria made the decision of any straight-thinking person in Manhattan, and headed west, ending up in Central Park.
Most recently, she was spotted Monday morning within a fenced-off area of the Ramble.
Astoria the Wild Turkey has made it to the quiet and safety of a fenced-off woods in the Central Park Ramble and is relaxing there this Monday morning. 🦃 ❤️ pic.twitter.com/vjE7dCH8xf
— Manhattan Bird Alert (@BirdCentralPark) April 21, 2025
Astoria got her name after settling in Queens when she first arrived in New York City in 2024, but soon after relocated to Roosevelt Island.
“Astoria had been going further south on Roosevelt Island than ever before, making her mating call,” David Barrett, who runs the popular account Manhattan Bird Alert, told The Times of London. “But there aren’t any male wild turkeys there, or in Manhattan. So, sadly, like so many single New Yorkers, she’s only going to find disappointment here.”
Historically, wild turkeys are very rarely seen in Manhattan.
Barrett adds that people should try to leave the wild turkey alone and that attempts to catch her will stress her out and possibly could lead her to rush into traffic.
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Wild turkeys are not solitary. It would be great if she could be captured and taken upstate someplace where there are other wild turkeys. The city is too dangerous for her. I have wild turkeys in my yard upstate NY and they come in large groups. Bring her up to Putnam, Westchester or Dutchess Co. and she will find a home. Good luck.
Lily Goldstein
Can we get her a boyfriend and they can both live in CP?
Love!
can you get me one first?
HA HA ! Love this!
I remember some decades ago a wild turkey was a temporary resident in Battery Park; it had a similar reaction from the media. What I don’t understand is folks who want the authorities to capture this bird: why do they think that it cannot look after itself?
Her name was Zelda! She lived in Battery Park until she died in 2012.
I remember her! I went to Battery Park one day to test out a new camera and got pix of her. Being a city girl, and not a birder, I wasn’t sure what she was and was shocked when I found out.
Hope Astoria does well and finds her mate!
She ain’t the first turkey searchin’ for love in The Ramble.
Good eating size
So go to the Park and hunt it down. Just stop writing annoying clichés.
The (R) gang probably can’t get very far lying to, stealing from, or cheating a turkey, and deporting it (to, say, upstate NY) would likely be a kindness, so I suppose all that’s left is to kill it.
Do you have to frame every comment around politics? Sometimes a turkey is just turkey
And I’m hoping it remains just a turkey.
But to address your question: no.
It’s a Turkey, it’s made out of meat.
What are you made out of?
Not until it’s on your plate….
She arrived on Roosevelt Island sometime last year ‘(24 ) and was known to everyone as “Rosie.”
She gained many admirers here on the Island and even joined in the local Thanksgiving Parade (photo available)
We hadn’t seen her for a few weeks and residents here were concerned about her wellbeing.
Glad to hear she is OK.. and has moved on to Central Park.
Hope she finds her soulmate soon.
You’re saying this one is an imposter??
she’s gorgeous. But she’s not a “runaway.” She just lives here. Hopefully people can just leave her alone.
I have pictures of wild turkeys in Central Park going all the way back to the 1970s. This is nothing new. Just leave them alone. They move on.
Just better not get too close to DiPaola turkey vendor at the Sunday market…
I hope @birdcentralpark will migrate to BlueSky. Like so many others, I’ve cancelled my X account.
You could argue people who stay on that platform reveal something about who they are by staying.
Congratulations! Just say no to Nazis, my motto. I’d also like to think you have nothing to do with Facebook, that wretched Slough of Despond; the vast Fediverse beckons.
Surely if for no other reason than naming, Bluesky would make a better home for birdcentralpark.
It’s not an airport you don’t need to announce your departure
Nor you your presence.
Yesterday, I saw a dog owner unleash her dog so that it could chase Astoria, who flew off into a tree. Makes one seethe. Leave wild animals alone.
I hope she stays safe and doesn’t go the way of our beloved Flaco.
You call her Astoria, but her name is “Rosie”.
She was staying in my building’s garden on East 66th St for several days.
She is VERY sweet, gentle, non aggressive. My heart goes out to her as she is lost and lonely.
And there is no food for her to eat. ;>(
My fear is that this will not end well.. Fingers crossed she stays safe.
Let’s all hope she doesn’t run into the wrong sort of people. Not to name names.
Her real name is Rosie!
Oh yay! Smart boid. I kinda thought if she had any natural sense she’d go to the park. Safer than the streets and better place to meet a potential mate, of sorts