Seven wild turkeys seemingly move in to East Side neighborhood

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Seven wild turkeys have seemingly moved onto a block in an East Side neighborhood. The turkeys are larger than some neighborhood dogs, and they spend their nights in the trees above the street. People were surprised when the turkey became regular fixtures in the neighborhood, and most seem to hope they'll stay.

"They seem to be on this block almost all the time," Jeanette Corbett said.

Richard Karlinsky says he sees them every morning.

"I don`t know how they got here or what they`re doing but they don`t seem to really care that they`re here," Karlinsky said.

Neighbors say the fowl arrived months ago, and found foraging on the streets suited them just fine.

"They eat like, all the berries that fall off the trees or sometimes they have bird feeders in the backyards that they eat," 10-year-old Nathan Corbett said.

Anne and John Bales were so taken with the turkeys, they took a DNR class to learn more.

"They add an extra dimension to our bird watching, that's for sure," Anne Bales said.

"The males are jakes and the females are jennys. I think these seven are siblings," John Bales said.

The turkeys waddle from yard to yard and cross streets without fear of cars.

"They won't run away from you. They'll run towards you," Jeanette Corbett said.

In fact, some of the neighbors are more afraid of the birds than the birds are of them!

"I have a little one, a six-year-old who's afraid of them. They turkeys came and started chasing them and he was trapped on the porch," Corbett said.

Neighbors have their complaints, but don't want the birds to leave. There's even a Facebook page called "The Eastside Turkey" that documents the turkeys' movements.

Like clockwork, when the sun goes down, the turkeys fly up into their nests for the night.

"It's really a unique phenomenon.  I think from now on there will be turkeys in the city. They're recolonizing," John Bales said.

Neither the city, nor the DNR have received any official complaints about the turkeys -- though neighbors may grumble from time to time.

The DNR says in the winter, a city neighborhood is actually a great place for turkeys because it is easy to find food.

CLICK HERE to visit at Facebook page established, called "The Eastside Turkey."