I thought I would “pluck” this photo from my cell phone and share it with you.  I took it earlier this week.  If you’ve been in our downtown lately, you’ve most likely seen these birds hanging around and enjoying all that is downtown Auburn Hills.  No, they aren’t props that we brought in for the holidays.  They found their way downtown all on their own.  I figured they wanted to be in a location where there were a lot of people around to keep an eye on them, especially since we just celebrated Thanksgiving Day.  It’s amazing how integrated wildlife is in this entire area.  Consider the deer populations in Rochester and Rochester Hills.  The deer have become so comfortable being among us humans that they walk down sidewalks and into parking lots just like any other pedestrian.  I suppose the unique nature of this rafter, or flock if you will, is just one more added feature to our downtown. And yes, a group of turkeys is called a rafter.  They supposedly got that name because turkeys sleep in trees, sort of like sleeping up in the rafters.  Anyway, hopefully they don’t become a “Bird”en.  

We encourage you to visit downtown Auburn Hills frequently.  As it continues to grow, there will be more and more to offer our residents and visitors, including a few turkeys.  Caution!  NO HUNTING ALLOWED IN DOWNTOWN AUBURN HILLS!

Tom Tanghe, City Manager

P.S.  Just because I’m a Tom, don’t lump me in with all those turkeys.