Brush turkeys spotted in eastern suburbs as their population grows across Sydney

BRUSH turkeys spotted in the eastern suburbs may have “island-hopped” or flown here from Sydney’s north shore, according to experts.

• Brush with a garden vandal
• Hunt on for turkey hater

BRUSH turkeys spotted in the eastern suburbs may have “island-hopped” or even flown here from Sydney’s north shore, according to experts.

Woollahra bushcare liaison officer Rudi Adlmayer said he spotted a turkey (pictured) last Tuesday near Trumper Park.

Another sighting was made just before Christmas at Cooper Park.

Why did the brush turkey cross the road? Pic: Tim Marsden

Ecologist Ann Goeth said brush turkeys had not roamed freely in the eastern suburbs for 150 years.

Their numbers started to dwindle when they were hunted by foxes, cats and even humans — who used to eat them during the Depression of the late 1920s.

Dr Goeth said it was possible the sighted turkeys could have stopped off at Shark or Clark Islands for a breather as they flew across the harbour from the north shore.

“Or they could have flown across in a strong wind as the chicks are quite good flyers,” she said.

This brush turkey was spotted around Trumper Park in Paddington.

The quirky bird was seen wondering around the tennis courts at the end of Quary St.

While Dr Goeth said the eastern suburbs was a “new location” for the turkeys, she was “not surprised” at the sightings as they were starting to make a comeback across the metropolitan area.

“They are starting to move from the northern suburbs, such as Neutral Bay, Lane Cove and the area around Taronga Zoo to the south in search of food and new habitat.”

Despite their benefit to the natural environment, Dr Goeth said it was also possible the birds were brought to Sydney’s east by someone who was fed up with them wrecking their gardens.

“They rake the ground so they help seeds grow and they are also part of the natural food chain,” Dr Goeth said.

“Powerful owls prey on them and that’s a species we want back in Sydney.

“What people underestimate is who unique they are a species and how much they enrich the natural environment.”

Brush turkeys are making a comeback across Sydney.

Professor Darryl Jones, deputy director of the Environmental Futures Research Institute at Griffith University, described the quirky birds as “ecosystem engineers”.

“It’s the return of a bird that really is an iconic species,” Prof Jones said.

“The fact they wreck gardens is a small price to pay to have these animals back.”

Prof Jones said the birds would love the eastern suburbs.

“They are spreading into leafy suburbs where there is plenty of vegetation to make their mounds out of sticks so they usually like the more expensive suburbs where there are big yards and treese,” he said.

“It is a rich person’s problem.”

He believed the most likely explanation for their appearance in Sydney’s east was a result of people relocating them.

“They are pretty easy to catch so I’m absolutely convinced that much of the spread is people moving them when they get sick of them being in their backyards.”

But he said it was definitely possible they “island-hopped” here.