Wild Turkeys in Town: What Montana FWP Says Residents Can Do

Where did western Montana's turkeys come from?

They were brought here. FWP's turkey page says Montana falls outside the wild turkey's ancestral range and the bird is not native to the state. The department chose the Merriam's turkey for introduction and released the first birds in the Judith Mountains of central Montana in 1954, with more releases in southeastern Montana over the next few years. Later trapping and relocating spread turkeys to numerous sites around the state. The Montana Field Guide lists the wild turkey as a non-native species.

Today FWP calls the Merriam's turkey one of Montana's most prized upland game birds, with a spring gobbler season and a fall season. Its regulations page, as we read it, lists female or beardless turkey licenses that are valid specifically in Missoula and Ravalli counties. So the turkeys in a Bitterroot yard are a managed game bird, and that shapes what a resident may do about them.

Why do turkeys settle into a neighborhood?

Food, almost always. FWP describes wild turkeys as omnivores that forage for insects, seeds, nuts and even frogs and snakes, and that normally move through the day as they feed. They are active in daylight and roost in trees at night to avoid predators. The Montana Field Guide cites research from central and southeastern Montana in which turkeys used grain fields and livestock feeding areas in late fall and winter.

Put those habits next to a small acreage with spilled grain, a chicken run, a bird feeder and mature trees, and you have winter range. FWP says artificial feeding can motivate turkeys to stay in a single location, which may increase flock size and disease transmission. Once a flock has a reliable food source and a roost within a short walk, it has no reason to move on.

Is it illegal to feed wild turkeys in Montana?

It can be. FWP's page says feeding wild turkeys can be unlawful if the feeding harms local populations, including through increased disease transmission, or creates a public nuisance. It says these situations are handled case by case and can result in fines. FWP's wording covers feeding that is intentional and feeding that is unintentional, so a feeder that spills counts as part of the problem.

Its practical advice is specific. If you have bird feeders, keep the area below them clean and make sure the feed is inaccessible to turkeys and deer. Secure garbage, because unsecured garbage can become a food source too. Our guide to bird feeders, bears and nuisance wildlife in Montana goes further on feeder management, and it applies to turkeys as much as to bears.

What problems does FWP say town turkeys cause?

FWP lists them plainly. Turkeys that stay in a neighborhood can end up pecking and scratching cars, tearing up flower beds, and leaving droppings on driveways, sidewalks, yards and porches. It says turkeys have been known to roost on roofs, which can result in considerable property damage.

There is also a safety side. FWP notes that wild turkeys can become a public safety concern because of their powerful wings, their size, the sharp spurs on the males' legs and their habit of traveling in flocks. It says males can weigh over 20 pounds and stand three and a half feet tall, and that feeding can make turkeys bold or aggressive. Its warning is worth repeating: once aggressive behavior is established, it is difficult to change.

What are you allowed to do to move them along?

Haze them. FWP says non-lethal hazing is effective in deterring turkeys from a property and that, although they are large birds, turkeys scare easily. The techniques it lists are tethered barking dogs, loud noises such as yelling, an air horn or a whistle, making yourself look big by waving your arms or opening an umbrella, spraying water from a hose or squirt gun, and installing motion-activated sprinklers.

Roosts get their own advice. FWP defines a roost as any elevated surface a turkey can rest on for security at night, and says hazing roosted turkeys helps motivate them to leave the area. It suggests doing that with a hose, preferably before dark. If the roost is your roof, a hose from the ground is safer than a ladder. Be consistent and get the neighbors to do the same thing, since a flock pushed off one lot will simply walk to the next one that feeds it.

What should you not do?

Do not hurt them. FWP is explicit that hazing tactics are intended to scare turkeys, not to physically harm or kill them. Wild turkeys are a game bird that FWP manages through licensed spring and fall seasons, so anything beyond scaring is a question for the department, not a decision to make in the driveway.

Do not feed them to keep them calm, and do not let a neighbor's feeding slide because the birds are pleasant in October. The damage FWP describes comes later. We could not load any city or county ordinance on feeding or on hazing methods for this guide, so we are not describing one. If you live inside city limits or in an HOA, check those rules before you set up noise makers or sprinklers.

Why are turkeys pecking at the car or the glass door?

They are fighting their reflection. FWP says mating season for turkeys runs between February and May, that males often become more aggressive and territorial then, and that they can attack their own reflections in objects such as cars and glass doors. Its fix is to cover those reflective surfaces for the mating season or to use the hazing tactics above. Smaller birds do the same thing at windows in spring, which we cover in why a bird keeps hitting your window.

Will FWP come and relocate the flock?

No. FWP states that it does not relocate wild turkeys. It gives three reasons: relocating birds can increase disease transmission and spread, some urban turkey populations may include domestic turkey genetics that the department does not want moved into wild populations, and moving nuisance turkeys does not solve the problem but merely relocates it. Its closing instruction is to stop feeding wildlife and haze turkeys when appropriate. In other words, the long-term fix is in the neighborhood's hands.

Who do you call, and what can a property service help with?

For an aggressive bird, a neighbor who will not stop feeding, or a flock that hazing has not moved, call Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. The Region 2 office in Missoula, which lists 406-542-5500, is the regional office for this area. HJ does not handle turkeys, and our bird mitigation work is about birds on and in buildings.

What we can do is take away what holds a flock on a property and clean up after it. A seasonal clean-up that removes fallen fruit, spilled seed and brush piles, and bird dropping cleanup on porches, walks and driveways, deal with the part that is yours to control. If the flock is working over a garden or berry patch, see our guide to protecting fruit and berries from birds. The rest of the series is in the Montana Bird Control Guide.

Call HJ Property Care & Tree Service at (406) 215-7319 or request a bird assessment and we will identify the species, the access points, and what will actually stop them.

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