turkeys!

i have been seeing wild turkeys all over the place.
this shocks me!
in my four years here in new jersey, this is the first time i've seen turkeys.
even in kansas, if i saw a wild turkey, i saw one.
i'm seriously seeing flocks here.

the first time, i woke up to get ready for class and i looked out my window and saw two big brown lumps (i didn't have my contacts in so i couldn't discern very well yet). i knew it was an animal and my mind hearkened back to a dream i had recently that was chock full of animals i saw while looking out the same window (the animals included were an owl, a bison, a pig and a very weird cat .... no turkeys). anyhow, finally the brown lumps put their head up and i could tell it was two fairly large turkeys. then, as i was watching fascinated, three other big ol' turkeys came to join them. five! thus, the first sighting.

next, i was driving on alexander the other day, and at the curve where i usually spot the groundhog, there was a young turkey, smaller than the previous five but quite obviously a turkey.

and now, i'm looking out my window again and see lots of little turkeys. they are definitely not the first group i saw because they really are half the size. but there are five of them. maybe the first five turkeys all had turkey babies. although, these small ones look fairly self-sufficient and not newly born. or hatched.

so my questions are: where did these turkeys come from? why haven't i seen turkeys here before? and, what do turkeys eat?! because apparently we have it in the backyard of witherspoon.