How can Commonwealth residents stay safe from fowl play?
The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife released an advisory Thursday detailing ways residents can avoid aggressive confrontations with wild turkeys during their breeding season, which takes place from March to May.
MassWildlife turkey biologist David Scarpitti said the division became aware of recent reports of turkey aggression in both urban and suburban neighborhoods across the state.
“Feeding is kind of the very root of the issue where turkeys become habituated to people and lose their fear,” Scarpitti said, “and we sort of see these behavioral issues crop up at that point.”
Scarpitti advised people to stop feeding birds altogether, as it may lead to turkeys congregating in areas where they shouldn’t.
“I think people think in the wintertime they’re helping all these animals, and the literature out there wouldn’t really support that,” Scarpitti said. “… So I am a proponent of not feeding birds. Let wildlife be wild.”
Scarpitti said turkeys are found in social groups structured by hierarchy, as they “literally and physically” peck each other to establish dominance within flocks, which can lead to aggressive interactions with humans.
To make matters worse, Scarpitti said Massachusetts is currently in the middle of turkey breeding season when males fight over potential mates.
“There just tends to be an uptick in behavior … with the males,” Scarpitti said. “We do see some threatening behavior, aggressive behavior towards people, which really is tied into their sort of breeding rituals.”
Scarpitti said residents should not run away or let turkeys intimidate them, but rather try to appear bigger, more assertive, and attempt to scare, “haze and harass” the turkeys with brooms and hoses if they are being problematic.
People can also deter attacks, Scarpitti said, by placing shiny objects that are mobile in the wind to distract turkeys and alleviate aggression. He said he did not think moving the turkeys elsewhere is a good idea.
“I don’t advocate that we relocate them because they are likely to become problematic somewhere else,” he said.
Turkeys in more rural areas are generally more fearful of humans, Scarpitti said. In more populated urban and suburban settings, he noted, turkeys become more familiar with people and lose their fear.
Scarpitti said turkey abundance has increased over the past five to 10 years after Massachusetts began reintroducing the species 45 years ago, intentionally trapping and transplanting them statewide in every community except Nantucket.
However, Scarpitti said, no one expected that turkeys would thrive so successfully after being brought to the state.
“They kind of are a very adaptable species,” Scarpitti said, “and you’ve got a tremendous amount of people feeding them and providing them food, which has caused their population to continue to grow.”
Denis Hayden, president of the Massachusetts Bowhunters Association, said hunting is an effective way to manage turkey populations, as the March through May breeding season coincides well with the statewide hunting season that starts in April.
“Lots of times, you hunt the animal during the rut or during the breeding season,” Hayden said. “You obviously have a lot more sightings, so therefore, you can control a population better.”
Hayden said the breeding season doesn’t increase the turkey population. Instead, the birds are just more active and travel.
“It’s just like in the fall when you see the whitetail deer all over the place,” Hayden said. “There’s a lot of incidents of them getting hit by cars because they’re a lot more active during the breeding season.”
Heather Raymond, a 29-year-old of Lynn, said she saw turkeys in her wooded backyard on Easter when her children were looking for eggs, and that she always accompanies her children when they play outside to prevent an attack.
Raymond said if her family ever came into close contact with turkeys, her family would just walk away.
“They’re wild,” Raymond said. “You can’t really do anything about wild animals, really. I don’t think it’d be good for the government to put them somewhere.”
Luca Kupper, a 23-year-old resident of Brookline, said he witnessed turkeys on his walk passing the MBTA Green Line tracks, but that the government should not police the turkey population.
“I think they were here first,” Kupper said.
Richard Puller, a 49-year-old resident of Quincy, said he saw turkeys walking in the middle of the street on Brookline Avenue over the summer.
“They didn’t give me a problem or anything,” Puller said. “I’m not worried about them if that was the case.”
However, Puller said he would defend himself if he were attacked.
“I would f—ing kick them,” Puller said, “punt them like a Super Bowl.”
i shot two with a pellet gun in the fall. have not seen a bird since.