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How to banish a brush-turkey
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ส.ค. 2024
- Here's an easy, chemical-free and safe option that uses a brush-turkey's own natural instincts and behaviour to encourage it to find a new nesting spot.
In some areas brush-turkeys can be a major nuisance due to their destructive behaviour when building their very large nesting mounds. When nesting they can also become very territorial and threatening.
Getting them to move on is challenging with trapping and relocation being a very cruel option as they are closely linked to their territory.
This technique led to no harm to the bird, beyond its pride. Afterwards we still saw him around. Next season he built a nest in a neglected area of a neighbour’s yard and with his mate successfully raised a number of chicks.
Note that if you do try this method make sure you use a heavy-duty, or otherwise shatter-resistant, and moisture resistant mirror.
And just a background...
Brush-turkeys are a big, Australian native bird, technically they are a megapode, these are ground-dwelling birds that build large mounds to incubate their eggs.
With increasing urbanisation and removal of natural predators, such as dingoes, brush-turkey populations have massively increased in some areas.
Brush-turkeys also adapt to suburban life very well. We had one that used to quite fearlessly march into our kitchen and eat all of the cat's food. If the door was closed it would peck at the door wanting it open so it could come in for a meal...
I filmed this a few years back before we moved house & had totally forgotten about the footage on an external hard-drive so here it is... better late than never!
#brushturkey #bushturkey #australianbirds #gardening #garden #funfact #wildlife #birdlife
My local turkey is called "Mr Gobbles". He's actually the second or third Mr Gobbles now.
The first Mr Gobbles built his nest in a pretty good spot. He dragged material from all over our land, and I let him do it for two years. Sure, the driveway looked shabby with leaves from 50 metres away dragged over it, but still...he was building a really good compost heap from material all over our land. Mr Gobbles the first was rewarded with chicken feed, something he would happily eat out of my hand.
Now, I should mention - I'm one of those bleeding heart SJW types. I always prefer to find a way to co-exist. This worked out fine for turkey #1.
A year or two ago the original Mr Gobbles was moved on by a new turkey. The new one kept the same nest and wasn't too much problem, apart from ripping apart a few beds near the house. A little chicken wire mostly stopped that.
About 8 months back, Mr Gobbles 3 (I assume) turned up and he made the other two look lazy. He wrecked the beds near the house, ripped up the raised garden beds (assisted by our chooks), and got into the main garden area which was only fenced with 1M high chicken wire.
I tried to keep setting my garden back, but he just undid all my work in the morning the next day, and then some. He bared the roots for many of my trees, ripped all the soil from the ground, even the path betweens the beds was ripped bare. That was on top of the endless drought. I almost gave up, but lucky I had some help from the family for my last ditch idea.
I would put up more chicken wire, so it was 2M high, and on the same day move his entire nest outside that fenced area and hope he took to it. He was pretty pissed on day 1, but didn't get back inside the sealed garden area, but he also didn't like the new nest. Day 2 he got back in and started to undo some of my work. A blast from the hose helped remove him a couple of times. Day 3 - same thing, by now I had relocated about 2/3s of his nest. He got hit with the hose a bit more this time too, enough to make him flee in panic.
Day 4 - he's abandoned that nest and moved to the one Mr Gobbles made which was left there for such a purpose. He is now working to make that shagadelic for all the local girls. He's stopped trying to get into my fenced area, even though part of the nest is still there - half outside the fence, and half inside.
The mirror did nothing. Putting a decently high fence around the plants I want to protect, and moving his existing nest did finally work.
Last time I had a bobcat come in and move the nest (after mating season and when the eggs had all hatched). I harvested about 6 tons of great soil / compost from that one nest. I will do the same again this year. My turkey get's a couple of handfuls of food from me every day because we have a mutually beneficial arrangement. He's now a part of my garden plan for the coming year.
Don't fight the turkey, make friends with him, but...like all good friendships - establish some boundaries :D
If nothing else they can be very, very determined @Ivan.
I should add that the only reason I moved this chap on was that he picked the worst possible spot in our entire garden.
He moved to another area and we were both happy with his new digs then a few months later we saw fluffy little brush turkeys running around :)
Mission accomplished all-round.
tried the mirror trick. Brian just managed to bury it
They are nothing if not determined @Frankie I'll give them that. It does seem that this trick works best on younger birds.
I've never commented on a TH-cam video before, but had to because this actually WORKED! I was devastated when a juvenile bush turkey decided our garden was his idea nursery, especially as I was about to mulch the whole garden (thankfully laziness helped for once!). After chasing, using the hose, I came across this video and went to the local reject shop and bought 4 mirrors set up strategically around the new nest - boy did it generate a reaction! Fascinating to watch the aggressive displays and attacking of the mirrors. You could see his energy and motivation decreasing as the days went on, and eventually after 4 days he thought the better of it and moved off. It's now been another 4 days so I feel safe posting that this method worked for me. I think having multiple tall mirrors helped as there was no reprieve from the "antagonist". Thanks for the brilliant tip!
No worries at all Edward, glad it worked for you!
We have a turkey near our house that wen named, ‘Stanley’.
Thanks, Adam, putting out a mirror right now!
Let me know how it goes. I've had a range of feedback & in some cases it seems older birds in particular can become 'desensitised' to the mirror and it only works for a little while.
In my case it was 100% successful so will be interested to see how you go.
Cheers mate, that was a top video!
Glad you enjoyed it
Unlike other turkeys, this one speaks with an English accent.
lol ;)
I'm definitely going to be trying this out. Fingers crossed.
I’ve got a pair that visit my yard. I think their mound is over the road in rookwood cemetery which is fine by me. They come and roost in a tree and pick from the compost heap, they seem to be making a comeback in sydney.
This is gold!
Unfortunately this didn't work for us. Our turkey just dug holes under the mirror. 😂 Back to the drawing board.
Well, if nothing else they can provide some entertainment... I think it comes down to the age of the bird & how used to other birds it is. Older, larger birds seem less worried by this technique while younger males it seems very effective on.
We have a bush turkey that constantly destroys our gardens. Though he hasn’t been successful in building a nest. He likes to scratch through our pile of grass clippings trying to spread them out. He’ll dig at the small mound we have a new lemon tree planted on. I saw this video a few days ago. Seemed like a good idea. We had an old mirror under our house, so I put that out near the lemon tree and the grass clippings. . . So far, so good. He still comes into our yard, but he goes straight to the mirror. He now spends his time pecking at the mirror, getting angry with it. He hasn’t destroyed anything else in the yard since the mirror went up.
Good to hear Darren! Seems that it is very dependent on the individual bird. They all have personalities, just like us, so some are more stubborn or bossy so take a bit more work.
In the park across the street from me there are turkeys. They used to come into my yard and mess up the garden.I had the hose ready and they learned to stay away.Next door a male built a huge mound then later went away. I have just noticed the mound is covered in tall weeds. I doubt if a turkey could rebuild it. There is still a huge mound in the park so I will try and find some quick growing plants to grow on it.If I put a mirror in the park I think someone would take it away. There is a woman living nearby who feeds them every day, the fool.
I reckon let them do their thing in the park. Keeps them away from your garden ;)
How awesome! Sorry for the turkey, but he'll try again somewhere else. Amazing what animals can do when they have a sole purpose. I like the guest appearances by the floating turkey throughout the video.
I know. It's one of those things where you do feel a wee bit cruel but he did accomplish his mission in a better spot nearby. We had chicks running around our garden for months :)
dude thank you so much. Going to try this immediately and will report back.
😍 Brilliant - My turkey has been around so long I've even named him - Boris. I really hope this works.
Let us all know how you go joh!
Mirrors didn't work with the brush turkey here. Tried this on several occasions and they fought the phantom brush turkey and then accepted it and continued destroying my garden.
Sigh... there are very keen aren't they?
From what I've now seen I think the mirror technique is more effective on younger birds as they are more easily intimidated. So.... good luck!
That's great for a single turkey. I've got over FIFTY of the dirty buggers ravaging my veggy gardens!!
Hmmm... no words... no advice. Ummm... move maybe?
This was not a solution for me. I bought a garden mirror ($70 from Bunnings). It confused him for a 1-2 days he pecked at the mirror and made disconcerted noises but soon just decided to go behind the mirror or to the side. I keep moving the mirror to point where he's active (every 30 mins -lucky I'm working from home) but he just starts destroying the garden somewhere else. He can dig up a lot of new plants in 20 mins.
Oh dear.
Yes, I think the issue can be that some birds are more used to reflections so it doesn't worry them as much. I know people who have brush turkeys come up to their plate glass doors and look in for food so obviously those birds aren't fooled by a reflection.
I guess not every solution can work in every situation but hanks for the feedback, helpful; for all of us.
And good luck. I feel for you...
Exactly! The mirror didn’t work at all. And the wretched thing has destroyed my garden troughs. He disappears at night so don’t know where he goes. We’re in Naremburn and quite hidden away so we have no idea how he found the yard. I do not want bush turkey babies! How can we get it to move on?
What a great idea.
Glad you think so! It worked for me. With feedback from viewers it seems to be most effective with the younger males.
That is great ! 👍
Thanks!
I'd love to host them in my gardens! Isn't the whole point of having a garden is to provide habitat for local wildlife? They are smart, inquisitive, funny, and beautiful creatures ❤
My garden now is a lot bigger, about 1 acre, and I have one nesting. Letting him just do his thing.
It's okay when you have enough room but in the case of the one in the video he was right beside the house and a main walkway to downstairs so basically... worst possible spot.
I've got one getting on the roof at 3am like clockwork everynight scratching about ,no idea what it's up to up there,what can I do? I think it'll be too hot up there for a mirror as it's hot summer here😑
Howdy @cooncats. We used to get them in our trees at night & they would go over the roof. Pretty freaky when you look up & see 3 or 4 birds that big staring back from a tree or the roof.
They may just be going to high ground at night. They do that in 'the wild' but in trees for safety from predators.
Tried this and he just buried it....
Maybe a bigger mirror?
I guess at the end of the day all birds are different. It worked in our case but it might not for a 'smarter' bird or for one that is used to reflections.
Did not work for me. Even then with 2 mirrors!
First turkey attacked and broke the mirror. The next year he ignored mirrors.
Oh dear.
Yes, I would recommend you use a sturdy mirror. As I said in the video the mirror I used is water resistant as it's an old bathroom mirror. They make them tougher than just a plain mirror panel.
And curious. All birds are different and to be honest some are smarter than others. Maybe after breaking one he decided that there was no threat.
If this works I owe you a beer or ten!
Did it work?
I'm going to try this. Just discovered a bush turkey has devastated our back garden and built a huge mound.
A few weeks later... So the bush Turkey is still here, in fact he's scratching at bags a construction waste on the back lawn now. He's still pecking at the mirror, but hasn't gone away. Am guessing he'll move on at some point. Has totally wrecked the garden.
don't bother it doesn't work long term
Hi Chris, see my other comment & also... it can depend on the individual bird & the local environment.
Just like people some are more stubborn than others but also if there are a lot of males & not much space they can stake their claim & be more persistent as there are less options for moving elsewhere.
In our case there were plenty of other areas & he got the message.
Also consider that the spot they choose has to met very particular requirements so it may be the only particular spot in the area that's in the brush turkey 'Goldilocks zone'.
Ive tried the mirror yes he left the next but still is here. How do you make them move on?
Hi @Elisha, you need to leave the mirror there until he has totally abandoned the mound and then break the mound down, it makes excellent mulch and compost. This should get him to move on for the season at least.
I tried the mirror --- did not work.
Yes, I think it depends on the bird. Worked a treat with ours.
Any help with deterring lyre birds? Electronic devices have proved to be useless. The garden is covered in chicken wire. Not a good look. Any help is appreciated
Hi Peter, sorry, no experience with Lyre birds. I always though they were more shy than that.
Good luck!
currently trying this. We've got 2 in our yard that and we've asked the landlord and the local council what to do, and the suggestion has been to just kill them. I dont particularly wanna do that, the roomies dont either,
This looks way better, i really hope it works on ours
No. Don't kill them. Apart from anything else they are actually protected so seriously big fine..
It's always worth remembering that we're the ones that have claimed their space, not the other way around.
In our case he moved on and nested somewhere nearby that wasn't any problem for us.
The spot this one was in was right beside a pathway & clothes line and it was making access dangerous with all the stuff he kicks around building his nest.
@@AdamHWoodhams
Im glad you replied mate i can give you an update.
Yeah the fact they're a protected species is what's making me go, well we're not doing that...
And then finding this vid's been great, first day I had the mirror on his nest it was text book, he was pretty mad at his reflection and there's a regular female here as well that he was chasing off, it was pretty funny to watch.
But i think he's figured it out, i've heard him tapping at my window before like he's doing to the mirror so maybe he already knows about reflections :/
its only been about a week though, and he's been building much less than usual so i think we're getting through
No worries @free,
Yeah, funny you mention that about reflections. I think birds that have been around houses more may be desensitised to the reflection thing. I've known places where they come up to people's sliding glass doors and look through for food so they must be smart enough to get used to it in some cases.
It's worth a try. Not every trick will work for every bird...
@@AdamHWoodhams No - we haven't claimed their space - our suburb was a waste land of clearance from about 1945. Settlement and gardening have created a much more hospitable space than the nearby sclerophyl forest of the Taylor Range on the north-western fringe of Brisbane. They are simply exploiting the moister, well-mulched artificial environment we have created. No dingoes, no goannas, just a few carpet snakes - so, largely free from natural predators, they multiply in this artificial environment.
How do I get rid of a pesky female pecking at my garden?
Now that's a harder one to deal with @Deelis. When the girls are around they don't cause too much damage with their scratching around. Main problem is they always seem to kick everything onto pathways...
@@AdamHWoodhams The new problem is the chicks..... I have space to allow one nest, but I'm afraid how many chicks are male.
I mean the pesky female's gone, but a male came by. I would be rid with it but my daughter loves it, and the chicks. Boy do I need therapy..
You don’t. They’re protected and did you know only 1 out of 200 survive? They need all the help they can get
@@brokendolls8714 Thanks, I'll ty to help.
Mirrors only work short term
Hi @Chris, as I mentioned to someone else you need to leave the mirror there until he has totally abandoned the mound and then break the mound down, it makes excellent mulch and compost. This should get him to move on for the season at least. It worked for us & he didn't return the next year. He was still in the area but didn't feel he could nest in the same location.
They keep our backyard kinda neat.
Yes, they can keep it free of fallen leaves!
@@AdamHWoodhams I have one, although we call them Bush Turkeys not Brush Turkeys, she keep returning for 10 years now.
How?