Crime & Safety
Turkeys Back in Spotlight — Don't Forget Your Umbrella
Some residents love seeing them, others fret, and experts say keep them wild. But whom do you call, and what do you do, when turkeys run amok?
Turkeys threaten to become as controversial in El Cerrito and Kensington as trees and deer, with some residents reporting they are becoming a nuisance and others worried about their well-being.
And compounding matters is confusion over just whose jurisdiction turkeys fall under.
One Patch reader is wondering what had happened to the turkeys because he hadn’t seen them lately. At the May 21 “” program that brought residents and officers together to chat, a resident said she still frequently sees a group in near on Navellier Street. Others of us have spotted a single turkey a few blocks from there (see accompanying photos and videos).
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The related question of what to do if you have problems with the turkeys likewise finds little unanimity of views. Some walkers give the birds a wide berth, while others rush up and crouch down to take photos. One neighbor said she believes the lone bird seen around town has been injured and has lost weight. She has been feeding it.
“The population has built up considerably in (Tilden Regional) Park over the last few years and has become increasingly problematic,” David Zuckermann, supervising naturalist at the park near Kensington, said in an email.
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“Initially it was just the droppings all around the ECC (Environmental Education Center) and (Little) Farm, but starting last year we started getting reports of the birds being more aggressive, especially at the Farm. No injuries last year—just birds getting too close to kids and stubbornly refusing to get out of the animal pens. Recently we’ve had some folks report being charged by the birds, and one incident of a child actually scratched by an aggressive mother hen. We searched for that bird, but could not find it.”
Zuckermann said he’s working with the district’s stewardship department to figure out what options the park has for dealing with the turkeys.
At “Cops and Coffee,” officers said some people have called the police to report that the turkeys can be intimidating, being unwilling to back down from approaching vehicles and scratching the vehicles as well.
The officers said there isn’t much they can do about turkeys and that they sometimes refer callers to the Contra Costa County Animal Services Department. Animal Services told Patch that turkeys are of concern to that department only if they are dead or injured and that wildfowl are normally the responsibility of the California Department of Fish and Game.
Kyle Orr, public information officer with Fish and Game, recommends reading the turkey portion of the "Keep Me Wild" section of the department’s website (which, by the way, also has a deer section).
The headline on the page warns, “Feeding Wild Turkeys Will Bring Problems Home to Roost.”
The page says in part, “Some homeowners can’t resist feeding them. That’s when trouble begins. A few stray visitors soon become a flock of permanent residents that have lost their natural fear of humans.
“Adult wild turkeys, which can weigh upwards of 20 pounds, can destroy flowers and vegetable gardens, leave their droppings on patios and decks, and roost on cars, scratching the paint.
“Turkeys can become aggressive during the breeding season, occasionally even charging, threatening, and acting aggressively toward people.”
The site recommends removing bird feeders if turkeys are hanging around them, and installing motion-detecting sprinklers to deter turkeys. Orr and the site say one way you may be able to fend off a wild turkey that has lost its fear of humans is with an open umbrella.
“The wild turkey population in California is healthy and growing — there are an estimated 240,000 wild turkeys in the state,” Orr wrote. “While, as our website states, homeowners experiencing property damage from wild turkeys may obtain a depredation permit from a local Department of Fish and Game office that is required to kill wild turkeys that are causing property damage, prevention is the best approach to sharing habitat with wild turkeys.”
Orr said he was not aware of any complaints about turkeys in El Cerrito or Kensington. “But wild turkeys can on occasion become a nuisance in suburban areas,” he said. “If someone spots an injured wild animal, they can contact a local DFG (Department of Fish and Game) office.”
The department’s website lists the following phone number for the region that includes Contra Costa and Alameda (and several other) counties as 707-944-5500, but notes, “If humans are in immediate physical danger from an aggressive animal, call 9-1-1.”
Editor's note: Albany Patch published an on our neighbor city's engagement with wild turkeys.
