This Thanksgiving, as the aroma of roasting turkey wafts through every neighborhood, wild cousins of the domesticated bird will be having feasts of their own not far away in rural fields and forests, suburban lawns and even some urban parks throughout the state.

"This time of year they're on the oak ridges, feeding on acorns, or hanging around the farm fields eating corn stubble," said Michael Gregonis, wildlife biologist with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. "They've adapted to a variety of areas a lot better than anyone thought they would."

The state's wild turkey population, estimated at 35,000, is found in every corner of the state, having spread from just 22 birds brought from New York state in 1975. Wild turkeys are native to Connecticut, but had been exterminated by 1813, Gregonis said.

"There were conservationists who wanted it to return to the state, since it's a native species," he said. As those 22 birds reproduced and populated the northwest corner, wildlife biologists for DEEP trapped and relocated some to other parts of the state, while others migrated into Connecticut from New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Year-round residents, they survive through the winter by hunkering down in evergreen stands and feeding on just about anything they can find, he said. Omnivores, they eat nuts, berries, insects, lizards, salamanders and snakes, using their gizzard along with small stones they ingest to help digest this varied diet. They will even dine at backyard birdfeeders.

Less than two decades after reintroduction, Connecticut's population was large enough to sustain hunting, and DEEP began selling its first turkey permits.

"Turkeys are very difficult to hunt," said Gregonis, himself an avid turkey hunter. "They have excellent eyesight and hearing, and they react very quickly. They're excellent flyers, and they can run up to 10 miles per hour."

Each year, about 9,000 to 10,000 rifle and bow hunters buy state turkey permits, harvesting about 1,000 to 2,000 wild turkeys each year, mostly in the spring, he said.

Compared to the domestic versions that are the centerpiece of most Thanksgiving meals, Gregonis said, wild turkeys are leaner, but nonetheless delicious.

"Wild turkey is excellent," he said.

j.benson@theday.com

Twitter: @BensonJudy