Cold turkey: Drivers spot something ‘fowl’ on Hwy. 401 during snowy morning rush

It wasn’t just the snow and slush disrupting the drive in the GTA on Thursday morning with some commuters in Toronto noticing something ‘fowl’ on a busy highway.

Motorists reported a turkey blocking live lanes of the westbound Highway 401 off-ramp to Warden Avenue before 8 a.m. The bird was reportedly wandering on and off the roadway for around 40 minutes.

Several callers to the CityNews 680 traffic centre were taken aback by the boldness of the large bird, saying the turkey was trotting right up to vehicles stopped on the Warden ramp.

Traffic cameras along the highway captured the bird pacing back and forth in the snow. CityNews 680 traffic reporter Jordan Kerr was tracking the turkey and says it appears to have wandered further away from the busy roadway around 8:30 a.m.

“The turkey’s okay, it’s scared probably, but it is no longer running around in the middle of the road,” Kerr says.

The Ministry of Transportation has been notified and crews are on scene to ensure the bird stays off the road.

Drivers have had to deal with a slower than usual morning commute on Thursday with most of the GTA receiving at least a few centimetres of snow overnight.