Ben Nandy

•

Apr 30, 2025, 5:34 PM

•

Updated

More Stories

00:20

Mystic Aquarium releases rescued seal into the ocean after recovering from pneumonia

00:18

Bald eagle population soars from one nest to more than 250 nesting pairs across New Jersey

01:43

Workers at Yonkers-based IHOP look after parking lot geese for third consecutive year

00:24

Beloved Yonkers police bloodhound who aided rescues and cases has died

00:51

Frogs and Friends exhibit opens at Sacred Heart University's Discovery Science Center and Planetarium

00:23

Starving dog found abandoned in Marlboro

She has a name.

She has a Facebook page.

She has the whole community tracking her every move, wondering where she will go next.

A Dutchess County village has a guest that just won't leave, and the community could not be happier about it.

News 12 was in Fishkill Wednesday to track down the famous turkey, who has been stomping around the village the last four months, giving residents something to smile and worry about.

Fishkill officials said they first saw the female turkey, now known as "Tammy," during a snowstorm in January.

Since then, there have been numerous Tammy-sightings reported to the Fishkill Highway Department, often times coinciding with jokes on social media.

In one photo on the Famous Fishkill Turkey Facebook page, one poster writes that Tammy was probably waiting for the bird seed she ordered, sharing a photo of Tammy in the middle of a busy road by a FedEx truck.

The staff at the newly opened Denny's Table are considering naming a dish or a drink after Tammy.

Server Nayeli Recinos told News 12 about a recent traffic jam Tammy caused.

"There was a big backup. They were all beeping. Then as soon as cars go by and they saw Tammy, everybody just calmed down," Recinos recalled. "I was like, 'Oh ok, I see the turkey has some power here.'"

The state Department of Environmental Conservation said any effort to relocate Tammy probably would not be necessary because wild turkeys are highly adaptable and have become more common in urban areas.

The DEC media representative said male turkeys may frequent the same areas during breeding season, which is happening now.

Tammy is most likely a female though, town officials said.

Fishkill Highway Superintendent Carmine Istvan has some experience with large birds on local roads.

He suspects Tammy might be guarding something important nearby.

With every Tammy report — including the one he received Wednesday — he tells callers not to feed Tammy and not to chase her off the road, though it might feel like the right thing to do at the time.

"Let her be safe. Let her do her thing," Istvan said. "She could be protecting eggs, [or] she got moved from her area, but just let her be."