ELIDA — Three wild turkeys have become quite the attraction at the corner of Eastown and Diller roads, causing passing motorists to slow down, stop at times, and just watch.
“It’s amazing. They’ve been around a couple of weeks now. The cars don’t bother them at all,” said Paul Good, of 3411 Diller Road.
The turkeys were camped in Good’s driveway Tuesday morning.
“A guy was here this morning about half an hour with his kids. They were all hanging out the window just having a good time,” Good added.
Good and his wife, Laura, put food out for birds, squirrels and rabbits. The turkeys also “go out back and make their rounds,” enjoying the corn, sunflower seeds and grain, Paul Good said.
According to Justin Harrington, assistant wildlife management supervisor at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, food is the motivation for wild animals to stay in such an area.
“This time of year, [turkeys] are going to come into food sources in urban areas and suburban areas. That’s how they get drawn in, is people’s bird feeders and if anybody feeds other animals,” Harrington said.
While the turkeys look plump for the eating, it is illegal in Allen County to shoot or kill a wild turkey this time of year.
“In Allen County, it’s [turkey hunting season] in the spring season, April 24 to May 21, 2017. Youth hunt season is April 22 through May 23, 2017. This is the only time you can hunt turkeys in Allen County. There are certain counties open for fall hunting, but not Allen County,” Harrington said.
Although the ODNR has no estimate on the number of wild turkeys in our area, it does have the harvest totals.
“Essentially what we do for managing wild turkey populations across the state is we don’t have a population estimate for each county per se, but we have a harvest per county and that is what we operate off of. The harvest per square mile in Allen County is at a three-year average of 0.18 turkeys taken per square mile of that county. Turkey populations are doing well throughout Ohio and if I look at the three years for Allen it goes 0.12 for 2014, 0.19 for 2015 and up to 0.22 in 2016. It is actually on the upswing, but the average is 0.18,” Harrington said.
While the turkeys are fun to watch, getting rid of them can be harder. Harrington suggests loud noises or a leashed dog.
“Nine times out of 10 they are there for a food source. Eliminate food source and clean up anything on the ground. Start harassment regime, from an air horn to banging pots and pans together to a leashed dog. If you have a halfway well-mannered dog that would get them excited that would be a good approach too. Make sure he’s on a leash and controlled. That would be a good tactic. Of course, be mindful of your neighbors,” Harrington said.
The turkeys can be aggressive.
“They can be aggressive at times. That’s one of the reasons you don’t want them habituated to people. Once they get into urban areas, you are ham-stringed on the techniques you can use,” Harrington said.
The Ohio Division of Wildlife estimates there are 180,000 wild turkeys in the state, with the bird returning to the Ohio landscape after many years of absence. Wild turkeys once inhabited forested areas of the entire state, providing food and sport for American Indians and early Ohio settlers. As settlement continued and forest lands were converted to cropland, the wild turkey’s population dwindled to the point that no birds remained in the state by 1904. The successful effort to reintroduce turkeys began in the mid-1950s by the wildlife agency.
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