Brush turkeys and wet weather set to cost council $1M as council races to brace damaged hillsides

WILD brush turkeys and wet weather could cost ratepayers more than $1 million as council works to prevent rock falls on damaged hillsides.

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CLUCKY scrub turkeys are digging into the city council budget by more than $1 million.

The wild birds are being blamed for scratching away soil and plants holding unstable rock together at Greenmount Hill at Coolangatta as they forage for food and dig their nests.

The hill above Miami’s Lions Head Park below the former Magic Mountain theme park site is also at risk of rock falls.

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Now the council is facing a $1 million bill to stop the cliffs and others across the city from crumbling.

The work at Miami and Greenmount is expected to cost $470,000, with a further $200,000 to be spent on consultancies and geotechnical assessments.

Council budget documents say further extended geotechnical assessments would likely be needed to cover other locations across the city — costing of up to $500,000 over two years.

Coolangatta councillor Chris Robbins said the work would be discussed in budget talks.

“Council officers are going to take a serious look at it to see what long-term solution can be determined to prevent future rock falls,” she said.

“The causes of the situation which would lead to rock falls have been the type of rock, environmental conditions and the overabundance of bush turkeys scraping at the soil.

Brush turkeys are causing erosion and rock falls around Greenmount Hill. Picture: Tim Marsden

“It became an issue several years ago when we had geotechnical studies done and put meshing in place where the birds were making a mess and potentially affecting the stability of the rocks.”

Cr Robbins said work by the council in the past five years putting wire mesh on the side of Greenmount hill meant residents’ lives were not in danger from the turkeys.

Work to fix potential rockfall sites will be carried out by the council’s community services directorate.

Wild weather has led to landslips across the city in recent years, especially in the Hinterland, during ex-tropical Cyclone Oswald in 2013.

The Ocean View track on Burleigh headland remains closed for geotechnical assessment after a boulder fell late last year.

Burleigh councillor Greg Betts said city officers began assessing the hillsides around Magic Mountain after complaints from nearby residents.

Fencing was put at the base of the hill to prevent access to unstable areas.

“This all started because of a precarious rock which was up on the hill and after it was removed we checked out the rest of the mountain and found there were quite a few rocks which had the potential to move,” he said.

“Much of this damage was caused by rain but work should begin in May to sort it out.”

The council is set to spend up on restoration works around Greenmount Hill after brush turkeys caused erosion and rock falls. Picture: Tim Marsden

The region’s brush turkey population has been on the rise since the 1970s, when they became protected from hunting.

Currumbin Sanctuary’s Dr Michael Pyne said brush turkeys had become well adapted to urban life. “They love to dig around the garden beds that are everywhere now,” he said.