Last week, reader Renu Bhatt sent in a "Guest Column" to Albany Patch sharing her frustration with a gang of wild turkeys that have been roosting in her backyard Redwood tree.
Despite speaking with Alameda County Vector Control and California Fish and Wildlife, Bhatt was still unable to get rid of the birds. She turned to our readers for help on suggesting ways to get the birds to leave and asked which authorities would permanently remove them.
However, it was the City of Albany that has decided to step in and help. She recently updated folks with the following message:
Thank you everyone for all of your understanding and suggestions. Since Albany Patch posted this letter, here is the progress we have made. We tried watering the birds with various hose nozzles, continued harassment (yelling, honking car horns, chasing), and had our neighbor's dogs come into the yard. All of our efforts have driven the birds higher into the tree, where they are out of reach. (It's a redwood, afterall, and very tall.) We got the word out via a couple of media channels, pleading for folks to stop feeding them. We learned that our immediate neighbors are also ready to see the turkeys leave, so we could parlay our collective goal into a collective plea. We made contact with the appropriate agencies -- both county and state. But, the most promising lead comes from our great town. My husband approached the city council, asking if the city could approach the appropriate agency to remove the turkeys. I got word today that the city manager has already reached out to the county to explore options to relocate the birds. This is a terrific approach, and we're going to wait and see what kind of progress the city is able to make on our (our neighborhood's) behalf. Thank you Albany! I love living in this great, small town. Here is a great example of why.
