EXCLUSIVE One of Australia's most exclusive suburbs declares war on aggressive brush turkeys as cafe diners are attacked in terrifying ambushes
Locals on Sydney 's northern beaches say no latte is safe, as the birds launch daily raids, pecking customers and smashing glassware.
Management at The Boathouse Group said over the past year, the turkeys had become increasingly problematic for patrons and staff at their cafe in Manly as their population rebounded.
'The brush turkeys have always been something our operational team have had to manage at Shelly Beach since opening in 2015,' head of commercial and marketing Ben Collis told Daily Mail Australia.
'We respect that this is their home and habitat. For years, the birds were simply part and parcel of the location and manageable for the team.
'But, in the last six to twelve months, it's become much worse as numbers of brush turkeys have increased and their behaviour in the venue and with patrons is significantly impacting guests' experiences.'
Mr Collis said on top of walking through the venue and jumping on tables, the brush turkeys had started to become more aggressive and even bite patrons in their hunt for food and scraps.
'We have escalated the issue and spoken to Northern Beaches Council, and they've referred us to National Parks and Wildlife, we're now waiting on a response from them,' he said.
A National Parks and Wildlife Service spokesman said they were aware of increased sightings of Australian Brush-turkeys in Sydney, particularly across the northern beaches and north shore.
The native species is protected, with penalties for killing or harming attracting fines of up to $22,000 and/or six months' jail.
'Brush turkeys typically do not pose danger to people. However, in some circumstances, they may pose safety threats due to threatening behaviour or as a result of large congregations,' the spokesman said.
'Biting is not considered typical behaviour.'
The department advised businesses and residents to manage nuisance brush turkeys on their land by installing deterrent measures and modifying the local environment to make the site less appealing for nesting or foraging.
'Landowners and businesses may attempt to deter turkeys from their land if the method undertaken does not involve killing, injuring, or capturing the animal or its eggs,' the spokesman said.
Ann Goth, who has spent half her life studying the bird, said they could not bite, as they had no teeth, they could only peck with their beak.
She said there were no accounts of them being aggressive, but like many city birds they had learnt to exploit human food sources.
'They are smart and quickly learn where free food is available,' she said.
'As soon as they receive food in a cafe - either by being fed, picking up crumbs dropped to the ground, or even stealing from plates left unattended, they become bolder.
'Just like other birds do the same - kookaburras steal sandwiches from peoples' hands in Taronga zoo, sea gulls steal chips from people's hand at Darling Harbour.'
Ms Goth said the turkeys were hunted to near extinction during the Great Depression; however, they had made a remarkable comeback in recent years.
'They are now coming back to areas where they used to occur, and in numbers that were normal before the 1950s,' she said.
'They are thriving in areas like Shelly Beach or other suburbs where there is bush nearby.
'They like gardens with moist mulch where they can dig for food and build their incubation mounds, they like petfood left outside, birdfeedres and open compost heap.'
Ms Goth has written the book Amazing Annoying Birds - Living with Australian brush-turkeys and said the birds were so smart they were reported to have learnt to wait for the green light when crossing the road at zebra crossings.
'As this is a relatively new occurrence in Sydney, cafe owners need to learn to avoid feeding brush turkeys in any way,' she said.
'This includes educating their patrons. In Brisbane, where brush-turkeys have occurred for much longer, all cafes know to do this.'
The cafe has started an online survey to seek feedback from its customers about what sort of turkey incidents they have witnessed so it can present the findings to the Northern Beaches Council and the Parks and Wildlife Service.
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