This time of year, everyone is buying turkey's, but in some parts of town, you can see wild turkeys right out your window.

The local wild turkey population in urban areas has ballooned in recent years, but this is a case of turkeys, turkeys everywhere, but not a bird to eat.

Visit the south hills of Eugene and you'll likely see them: wild turkeys in flocks, plucking berries, crossing streets, just hanging out.

Neighbors says, "They're all over the place."

Wildlife officials estimate 300 to 400 wild turkeys roost in these hills, a number that's exploded because the fowl have few predators and lots of food from humans to gobbles up.

Chris Yee of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife says the problem won't stop until people stop feeding wildlife.

Yee says turkeys normal habitat is 4 square miles but, "When fed inside the city limits they can limit their use to one or 2 square blocks in a residential area."

Many people don't mind sharing their neighborhood with the big birds.

South Eugene Resident Lysbeth Borie remembers one time she and her daughter came upon a flock of turkeys "We came over and saw 2 dozen turkeys in the yard or around hour house and more than half of them were on our roof."
She says her cat loves to watch them.

Resident Dorothy Abell says the turkeys are harmless.
"They keep their distance, but they entertain, pluck pluck pluck pluck ."

But that munching and scratching damages gardens, decks, roofs and cars to the tune of thousands of dollars. Yee of ODFW says, "We get complaints almost weekly about turkey damage within the city limits."

Getting rid of turkeys isn't an easy prospect, you can't shoot turkeys in the city limits, you can't trap them, in fact its illegal to harass them. You can however get a permit to harass a turkey.

But that free permit doesn't mean you can bag a bird for your holiday feast, for that you must be outside the city limits and have a hunting license.

Yee says, "Yeah, they're quite good to eat, many people prefer them to store bought turkeys."

It is that tasty fact that worries turkey fan Dorothy Abell. She says, "With Thanksgiving coming I'm feeling so sorry for them."

She prefers her turkeys running for the hills, not stuffed.

ODFW tried trapping and transplanting the Eugene turkeys, but found it didn't reduce the populations.