Hangin’ with neighborhood wildlife happens often in Stevens Point

I’ve got a rafter of turkeys practically living in my backyard.


I suppose that’s better than a murder of crows.

But it’s not as cool as a convocation of eagles.

I’ll stop now, because I could have fun with bird group names all day. Why all bird groups aren’t simply called flocks is beyond me, but anything that complicates the English language even more is always appreciated (said with complete sarcasm).

My wife counted a mother turkey and 16 younger ones, and they’ve been hanging out in the five acres of semi-wetlands behind our house for the past week.

They join the fox that likes to hang out in our Stevens Point neighborhood, along with the hawk that swoops in front of me nearly every time I run past it, the grass snakes that occasionally like to scare my wife and the deer that don’t seem to be intimidated by people.

I never imagined when I moved to Stevens Point that I’d see more wildlife here than when I lived in Wautoma, a city 10 times smaller and in a much more rural location. But Wautoma and Waushara County have nothing on Stevens Point and Portage County when it comes to wildlife.

It must be the Wisconsin River. And the George W. Mead Wildlife Area, home to at least one bobcat (see the story in this week’s Gazette) and thousands of other animals.

It’s fairly clear wildlife is becoming more accessible to human viewing because people have moved to areas that used to be their home. Our subdivision used to be just lake homes, but now two or three per year are being built across the street from those homes, including ours last year.

I feel somewhat guilty for encroaching upon their territory, but I like to think I’m a good neighbor. I’ve gently moved the snakes that have scared my wife to grassier areas in my backyard, and I’ve silently watched the turkeys from my backyard without scaring them away.

And the fox is a regular visitor to the neighborhood who seems to like all his human neighbors. I just hope he has learned how to stay away from fast-moving vehicles.

I’d gladly welcome the bear back that was spotted on our land before we built our home, and I’d love to see a Mead bobcat stop by for a brief appearance.

In talking with my human neighbors, all of them seem to enjoy the wildlife as much as me. We know we’ve invaded their lands, so we’re all more than willing to let them hang around as long as they want to.
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Originally published in The Portage County Gazette on Aug. 24, 2012.