What makes this even funnier for me is that it took place in my hometown.

Turkeys appear trying to get out of NJ by train

November 22, 2006
RAMSEY, N.J. — Some wild turkeys, it appears, were trying to get out of New Jersey before Thanksgiving.

NJ Transit officials reported seeing a dozen or so wild turkeys waiting on a Ramsey train station platform Wednesday. The line continues to Mahwah and Suffern, N.Y.

Dan Stessel, a spokesman for NJ Transit, said the sighting wasn’t a joke.

“For a moment, it looked like the turkeys were waiting for the next outbound train,” he said “Clearly, they’re trying to catch a train and escape their fate.”

NJ Transit workers began noticing the birds about 1:45 p.m. and followed their movements on surveillance cameras. A still photo shows a woman with a Macy’s shopping bag near the turkeys.

The birds left and returned to the platform about an hour later, Stessel said.

“I have no idea how they got there,” he said. “I have know idea how they left. They probably flew away.”

Police in Ramsey, a town about 20 miles northwest of New York City, heard about the birds, too.

A dispatcher said the department had received three calls Wednesday about a dozen turkeys traveling together. They also caused a problem with car traffic Wednesday morning.

“From time to time, I’ve heard calls that there are turkeys on the loose,” said Erik Endress, president of the Ramsey Rescue Squad, a volunteer group. “Maybe they’re trying to make a break.”