Troublesome Turkeys Terrorize Traffic

It appears turkeys really do become rather bold after surviving Thanksgiving.

Local resident Deborah Carusi was driving along Osgood Street Wednesday afternoon, going about her business, when she noticed a car about 100 feet in front of her trying to get around a couple of turkeys.

When Carusi stopped to let the turkeys drive by, they got tough and started attacking her car.

"I was speechless," Carusi said. "They went around to the back of my car then went in to the woods along the road. I stopped to see where they went as they kept coming out at cars."

Carusi called the and waited. When a police cruiser arrived, Carusi said a group of turkeys came back out to the road.

"So I waited and literally as soon as they saw the cruiser they came out of no where and charged it," Carusi said. "It was wild!"

But Police Lt. Charles Gray said these types of incidents are misunderstood and the turkeys are simply responding to reflection and light.

"What they'll do is, if they see a reflection, they'll try to peck at it," Gray said. He encounters turkeys frequently and said they tend to follow police cars into the road, and police use their rear lights to lure the birds off of the road. "We just get them off the roads and keep anything bad from happening."

North Andover has had an Police reports show calls about turkeys several times a week, with turkeys hanging out in roadways near Old Town Common and on Osgood Street. On Wednesday, there were turkeys hanging out in the road on Main Street, and Officer Eric Sewade went and lured them off the road. It is not known if these are the same turkeys that charged at Carusi's car.

If you are confronted by wild turkeys, either in their car or on foot, Gray advises you to move out of their way as safely as possible and move along.

"Its wildlife, and they're there," Gray said.