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Wild turkeys take over Philomath

09:13 AM PDT on Thursday, September 25, 2008

By MIKE BENNER, for kgw.com

Thanksgiving might not be the only thing Turkeys in one small Oregon city have to worry about this fall. 

KGW report on turkeys

A flock of nearly twenty birds have taken over the city of Philomath. 

One neighbor says not a day goes by that he is not dodging turkey droppings in his yard.  “There’s a bunch of it in the lawn.  There’s not much grass, but there’s a bunch of it in the lawn area,” said Mike Ashdown. 

The perpetrators are a flock of seventeen wild turkeys.  “As you can see, they’re on both sides of the street.  There’s quite a few of them,” said Jerry Jackson, a Philomath Councilman. 

According to city leaders, the turkeys are creating a lot of noise, defecating all over the place, and tearing up landscaping and roofing. 

They mayor and city council are now exploring all options, including killing some of the birds.  “It would be an issue of last resort and typically you only have to take out a portion of the flock,” added Nancy Taylor of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

But some neighbors like the wild turkeys.  “We like them.  We get up in the morning and they’ll come down the street, 6:45 or so, making noise, and our son likes to look at them,” said Craig Carr. 

But if an overwhelming number of neighbors get their way the turkeys could disappear very soon.  “I’d like to see them not here,” said Ashdown. 

No timetable has been set for getting rid of the birds.

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