Too many turkeys!

The Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) began planting so-called wild turkeys in Central Oregon as far back as the 1970s. The hope was that the turkeys would survive and begin a population for turkey hunters to enjoy. The first plantings were Merriam's turkeys, but they didn't work as well they did in North Dakota and other similar locations.

The next generation, the Rio Grande variety - a very close relative to Merriam's - found the Sisters, Black Butte and Green Ridge areas to their liking, and the transplant stuck. In time, more releases were made by ODFW at the behest of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) in cooperation with the USFS. 1992, '96 and '97 saw further releases in the National Forest in the Green Ridge area.

This is what one Sisters resident has to say about turkeys in Sisters: "Our subdivision in Indian Ford has been home to an increasingly large flock of turkeys over the past few years; this year we have seen as many as 50 in the group, and some are huge. They run down the street in a row like a strange wildlife parade, and sometimes the big toms display their feathers like Thanksgiving Poster Boys.

"I have neighbors who love watching them and have been feeding them - against all advice. Its a little like having a drug dealer in the neighborhood, with turkeys swarming in to get their fix of cracked corn.

"The fun really cooled for me when they started regularly visiting my yard, scratching up plants and seeds, pooping everywhere, and roosting on my deck and shed. However, my neighbors still felt it was kinder to feed the turkeys once the snow flew, so unlike other years, the turkeys didn't leave."

According to David Budeau, upland game bird coordinator for ODFW, the key reason turkeys become a pest is because they are being fed by misguided people trying to be kind to wildlife. LOOK & ENJOY - BUT DON'T FEED! is the advice to follow.

Here's a dramatic example, from an Indian Ford resident, of the consequences of too many turkeys: "At 7 a.m. one morning we heard a lot of turkey commotion outside - like a little turf war going on - then a huge crash that sounded like an ocean wave coming into our living room window! We ran downstairs to find a dying turkey with a shattered head and broken wing. There was glass everywhere from the impact of a 20 lb. turkey flying into our big picture window. Broken glass covered every surface, our couch, chairs, rugs, a broken lamp, and giant knifelike shards that would have pierced us if we had risen earlier to watch the news."

Then came more bad news: "We called the glass company and our helpful insurance agent who promised to get help, clean up the mess and secure the window. However, our agent called back very apologetically to let us know that 'bird damage' is not covered under homeowners insurance - they're considered a pest (like termites) and there's no way to insure against damages caused by a confused turkey."

According to the ODFW, this kind of consequence from feeding turkeys around homes is not that uncommon. "I don't know of any case where we've had a complaint about turkeys that wasn't associated with someone putting out artificial feed for them," Budeau stated emphatically.

To help ease the burden, ODFW issued the Indian Ford homeowner a nuisance permit to "take" the turkeys pooping all over the deck and causing other mischief. BUT, after killing, plucking and gutting the them, the homeowner must deliver them to the Bend ODFW office for distribution to food banks. With gasoline at $3.50 a gallon, who wants to make trip after trip to Bend to deliver dead turkeys?

Shooting turkeys in a sub-division doesn't sound like a good idea either (or even legal). The other solution would mean labor-intensive live-trapping, perhaps a service turkey-feeders should pay for.

Some cities over in the Valley have passed ordinances against feeding turkeys. Perhaps the various homeowners associations around Sisters should do the same (and include a clause about not feeding mule deer as well).