TOMS RIVER – It’s a tale of two sets of wild turkeys, those who have shown their aggressive side in the adult community of Holiday City in Silverton and a gaggle of turkeys in another portion of the township who simply like to stop traffic.

Both gangs of turkeys have been referenced as annoying residents and have received their share of attention from various news outlets in recent weeks.

Many Holiday City residents expressed frustration and fear beyond annoyance saying the tenacious turkeys just didn’t want to leave the property and, in some cases, even took a nip out of them when they tried to shoo them away.

As local animal control officers are not permitted to remove wild life there wasn’t anything they could do but as the reports persisted, state wildlife officials came in to take action toward the “aggressive” birds.

The Division of Fish and Game representatives surveyed Holiday City which has around 1,595 homes off Church Road. Forty to 60 wild turkeys have been reported as flocking around Holiday City neighborhoods causing damage to vehicles and property. They are planning to remove the wild turkeys from Holiday City. Wild turkeys can weigh up to 20 pounds and can trot to a pace of 20 mph.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection issued a statement to Jersey Shore Online on November 13 concerning the issue. “The DEP’s Division of Fish and Wildlife staff responded to complaints about nuisance turkeys in Toms River over the weekend and met with the neighborhood homeowners association to gather information and create a plan for managing the turkeys in the area.”

“The DEP’s Division of Fish and Wildlife is actively working to trap the nuisance turkeys, which is the DEP recommended best practice for removing the turkeys from the area. DFW uses trails of corn to establish a baiting routine for the turkeys prior to trapping them using a drop net. Establishing this new behavior pattern for the turkeys can take several weeks,” the DEP said.

The DEP added that “in order to ensure that the trapping is successful, the DFW asks residents in the area to not provide food sources (including bird seed) to the turkeys.”

Photo by Bob Vosseller

“The DFW advises residents to use a broom, garden hose or air horn to scare the birds and reinforce their natural fear of people. Residents may also place cardboard over windows to prevent reflections. Tom turkeys may see their reflection in a window and may try to attack it, thinking it is another Tom. The DFW also strongly advises against feeding any wild animals,” the DEP statement concludes.

Some Holiday City residents in Toms River said the turkeys aren’t really as big of a problem as some make it out to be.

“They walk very slow at times when they cross the street but they don’t really bother me. They are pretty peaceful. No one really bothers them and they don’t bother anyone,” Louis Valencia of Hovson Boulevard said. “They have no regular time. They come out at any hour. I used to see them more two years ago when I walked my dog.”

A woman who was walking her dog further down the street did not wish to give her name but did say, “I think the whole thing is crazy. We have one person in the neighborhood who is feeding them so of course they are going to come around. I’ve lived here for three years and they’ve been around. The turkeys were here before we were. People feed them. I think we have other issues that need to be focused on here. I walk around everywhere and I haven’t seen a turkey in a month. We really have more of a problem with the geese and the deer. I feel bad for the deer because I think they are looking for food.”

Jim Davis is a visitor to the area but he’s been around long enough to have seen a gaggle or two of turkeys. He spotted about 30 of them on Pocono Place on the afternoon of November 14. “They were out in full force. They crossed the street and headed over to the woods and then went further back. Some of the elderly residents are afraid to come out when they are around but they generally don’t bother anyone.”

The wild turkeys travel around the area and were spotted on Old Freehold Road later in the afternoon checking out a cul de sac in that area a block away from the Old Baptist Church Christian Academy School.

The Silverton turkeys however, are giving another gaggle a bad rap according to an Ocean Gate couple who have been documenting the adventures of this group which has a leader. His name is Waldo.

Frank and Taffy Riehl said that Waldo often wanders the streets with friends around Innsbruck in Toms River. “We first came to know Waldo back in May. He came out one morning and started pecking at Taffy’s car when she was visiting her mother who lives on Innsbruck. Since then he has slowly moved down Port Royal and up Bimini streets,” Frank Riehl said.

“We started taking pictures and videos of him, when we realized that it was not just a one-off incident. Initially we were just sending them to each other. Taffy started calling him Waldo because we were always wondering where he was and if we could find him.,” Riehl said.

The couple was having so much fun with Waldo that they decided to make a Facebook page to entertain their friends.

“It is fun to make up little stories about his day,” Frank Riehl said. Waldo’s social media attention allowed for the couple to communicate with people who live on Bimini. “A lot of people actually enjoy Waldo and try to keep him safe. They laugh when we tell them his name. The neighbors have told me that people stop and take photos. They recognize our PT Cruiser and talk to us.”

Waldo the Wild Turkey is out most days at sun up and sundown. “We have determined that he lives in the woods off of Port Royal. We followed him home one evening. It is common for young turkeys to be on their own. It is very strange that he has an attraction to cars but I have determined that he sees his reflection in some vehicles’ glossy paint, like my wife’s PT Cruiser. Since he thinks it is a rival he goes after it,” Riehl said.

The tenacious turkey has no problem running up to cars. But he definitely keeps a good 20 feet from humans, according to the Riehls.

Waldo the turkey struts his stuff. (Photo courtesy Deborah Peterson)

“I have had the opportunity to feed him bird seed. Turkeys have extremely good vision and he does recognize the cruiser and runs right up to it if we slow down or pull over,” Riehl said.

The Riehls are concerned with Waldo’s health and safety and want people to know that purposefully injuring or killing a wild turkey is a crime. “Turkeys are a game species and are protected by law in New Jersey and most states. Accidents do happen, but wanton destruction is a crime,” Frank Riehl said.

“I have seen people try to hit him. We also saw an old man trying to hit Waldo with a broom. Needless to say, Waldo was easily able to outpace him. I find that the majority of people like him and really try avoid hurting him,” Riehl said. “He seems to hang around with flock of toms close to his age. But we have not seen him with any hens. But we did see hens and chicks earlier in the season. We call his flock his “posse” because he frequently blocks traffic while they cross the road.

Waldo’s exploits have been the interest of social media but his worst crime has been slowing down traffic as opposed to the more aggressive acts of the turkeys in Holiday City.

One thing is for certain, should you encounter a wild turkey, approach the them with care and discretion. Unlike their domesticated counterparts, wild turkeys are actually able to fly and in fact are very fast fliers. They are also quite agile. They usually fly close to the ground for no more than a quarter mile.

Wild turkeys have sharp eyes and good eyesight, but poor night vision. They will not see a predator until it is usually too late during the evening.

By dusk, most wild turkeys will head for the trees and roost well off the ground, up to around 16 meters.

As wild turkeys don’t migrate, in snowier parts of the country they tend to select large conifer trees where they can fly onto the branches and shelter from snowstorms.