Wild turkeys can turn into an issue, particularly when their numbers develop. This one in Yamhill County has discovered easy methods to eat out of a wild chook feeder.
Oregon Division of Fish and Wildlife
Retiree Chenaya Strutton just lately discovered herself driving by way of a really good housing growth in Reedsport, on the central Oregon coast. On the facet of the highway was a flock of untamed turkeys, so she stopped to take an image.
“One male came visiting and noticed his reflection in my hubcap and he began attacking his reflection,” Strutton stated. “You recognize, flying up, hitting it together with his spurs and flapping and all the pieces.”
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Turkey exercise begets turkey exercise, so by the point she tried to depart there have been 30 birds clustered across the automobile.
“So for fairly some time we sat on this big mass of turkeys and watched them assault our hub caps,” she stated.
Chenaya Strutton stopped to take photos of untamed turkeys and one began attacking its reflection in her hubcaps.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
Reedsport isn’t the one city the place Oregon’s wild turkey inhabitants resides as much as its adjective. In Jefferson, flocks have been pecking at automobiles and uprooting crops. In Eugene, they’ve been pooping on lawns. And close to Moro, a girl died after a wild turkey hit her bike.
The Oregon Division of Fish and Wildlife will get about 160 complaints about wild turkeys yearly. Brandon Dyches, who manages the company’s Hunt By Reservation program, stated lots of these complaints are non-trivial.
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“A number of hundred birds get in your roof, that’s numerous weight. I’ve seen sheds broken” stated Dyches, who’s employed by the nonprofit Pheasants Eternally which companions with ODFW. “I’ve seen tons of turkey scat. If farmers plant seeds and people seeds begin to germinate, turkeys like to eat that. … I’ve seen vineyards have turkeys bounce up and eat grapes. Turkeys have a assorted skill to trigger havoc.”
When a inhabitants of untamed turkeys bought too massive in Douglas County in 2014, Oregon Division of Fish and Wildlife workers trapped them utilizing a rocket internet and transplanted them elsewhere.
Oregon Division of Fish and Wildlife
Turkeys aren’t native to Oregon. Home birds had been launched by pioneers within the Nineties, however they didn’t take to the wild. Then within the Sixties, wild turkeys from Texas had been introduced in to create looking alternatives they usually’ve been thriving ever since.
The birds can eat virtually something, from acorns to snails, and reside virtually anyplace, from golf programs to residential areas – particularly if there’s a well-stocked chook feeder.
Simply how a lot injury they do to native species isn’t clear. However Bob Sallinger with Portland Audubon isn’t too frightened.
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“We typically don’t take into account them a menace to the surroundings (crops or native species),” Sallinger wrote in an e mail. “The conflicts I’m conscious of relate to agricultural impacts, property injury and infrequently aggressive conduct towards individuals.”
Turkey aggression and different issues are why the Oregon Division of Fish and Wildlife is now piloting the Hunt By Reservation program to hyperlink hunters with farmers which have turkeys on their land.
Retired Albany farmer, Loren Gerig, clears brambles away with the assistance of a crew of hunters.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
On a latest Saturday morning, Dyches and a crew of hunters helped Albany farmer Loren Gerig clear brambles out of a goat pasture.
“We’re transferring some 70-year-old fencing from the bottom,” Dyches stated. “And it’s only a job that nobody man ought to undertake.”
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The hunters are volunteering as a thank-you for being allowed to hunt on Gerig’s farm — one in every of many within the state the place individuals can reserve a time to hunt. Individuals don’t should volunteer in the event that they wish to hunt turkeys on farms. They will simply go browsing to the state’s Hunt By Reservation web site, discover a location and pay. A looking license is about $35 and a turkey allow is about $27.
At first, Gerig was frightened concerning the liabilities concerned with letting hunters onto his property. He frightened they wouldn’t shut gates or would trample his fences.
Additionally, the dozen or so wild turkeys on his land haven’t been an issue. They only eat the acorns and windfall apples. However he determined to permit looking as a result of he’s heard the horror tales and he doesn’t need his flock to get out of hand.
“I believed I’d stick my neck out a bit bit. And I’m glad that I did,” Gerig stated.
Gerig is happy the hunters helped him clear land and that they appear to be retaining the turkeys beneath management.
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Hunt By Reservation coordinator, Brandon Dyches, helps clear brush at an Albany Farm as a thank-you for hunters being allowed to hunt on the property.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
Dyches first picked up looking to study extra about the place our meals comes from and stated wild turkey tastes improbable.
“My spouse, she’s going to let you know that she prefers wild turkey,” he stated. “My view is: It’s turkey style, instances two. It’s simply intense, pure wild turkey with not one of the weirdness that comes with manufacturing unit animals.”
There are two turkey seasons, one in fall and the opposite in spring. And in contrast to some deer looking, contributors don’t should scent themselves with urine. Looking wild turkeys includes establishing in a camouflaged scenario after which utilizing calls to draw the birds. These calls will be made by mouth or wooden scratched on a chunk of slate.
Clayton Chambers lives in Portland, works at Nike, and didn’t develop up looking. However he needed to find out about wild meals. So he took hunter schooling courses by way of the Oregon Division of Fish and Wildlife.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
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Clayton Chambers lives in Portland, works at Nike, and didn’t develop up looking. However he additionally needed to find out about wild meals. So he took hunter schooling courses by way of the state and now looks like he sees turkeys in all places.
“Simply driving down you’ll see two dozen birds in anyone’s yard,” Chambers stated.
However he doesn’t simply bounce out of the automobile to bag a chook.
“You don’t wish to go and simply kinda plink one out of the backyard,” Chambers stated. “You wish to have the complete turkey expertise, proper? And there’s one thing about being out type of within the forest, within the woods, versus simply going out and harvesting a chook in a yard.”
The variety of turkey complaints made to the state has dropped 15 % during the last 12 months. However that drop isn’t essentially attributable to the brand new hunter-farmer partnerships out there beneath the Hunt By Reservation program, stated ODFW recreation coordinator Mikal Cline.
What does appear clear, no less than for the hunters and farmers interviewed for this story, is that the brand new system permits for each teams to get a bit extra, or much less, of what they need.
Oh, and when you’re hoping for some “turkey style instances two” at Thanksgiving, pulling out your cellphone to order one received’t work. In order for you a wild turkey in your desk this fall, you’ll both should learn to hunt or befriend a hunter with the talent to bag sufficient birds. There’s a 5 birds most every year.
Albany farmer Loren Gerig was frightened concerning the legal responsibility of letting hunters use his land. However he is been happy with their assist clearing brush and retaining his turkey flock beneath management.
On Saturday morning at the Navy All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, three-star prospect T’Andre Waverly announced his commitment to Oregon State over Washington and Notre Dame.
The product of Kamiak High School in Mukilteo, Washington, is ranked as the nation’s No. 96 athlete and No. 18 player in the state in the 2025 class by 247Sports. Once he arrives in Corvallis, he’s expected to play tight end.
“I believe in [offensive coordinator Ryan] Gunderson for the future,” Waverly told 247Sports’ Brandon Huffman. “And I’m excited to get to know the new tight ends coach [Will Heck].”
“[Head coach Trent] Bray seems like a real get to business guy and I like that. I don’t want a coach who will pamper me. I want someone who will tell me what I need to do and what to do.”
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Despite seeing the in-state prospect going elsewhere, tight ends coach Jordan Paopao has pulled in a promising batch at the position after signing four-star Baron Naone and three-star Austin Simmons in December.
For an athlete, a loss can shake even the strongest mental foundation. For Ohio State quarterback Will Howard, those feelings bubbled up after losing to the Oregon Ducks 32-31 at Autzen Stadium in early October.
While interviewing with ESPN before Ohio State’s semifinal game against the Texas Longhorns for the College Football Playoffs, the quarterback reflected on that feeling of loss.
“It’s been a rollercoaster. Some of the ups and downs that we did go through are why we’re sitting here today in the semifinals and probably playing our best ball right now,” Howard said. “There have been some tough moments. I’d say that Oregon loss early on in the season was rough.”
Oct 12, 2024; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) walks off the field after losing 32-31 to Oregon Ducks during the NCAA football game at Autzen Stadium. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Howard, who went 28-35 passing for 326 yards and two touchdowns, remembers what he did after that fateful quarterback keeper turned slide that sealed the fate of the Buckeyes during that regular season encounter with the Ducks.
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“Coming out of it I felt like I played a good game but it was really just the ending. I sat there and stewed over just how could I have done that differently. But when we got back here I think it was about six in the morning. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was kind of at a loss. I went into the indoor and I just laid there for about an hour – hour and a half. I was in a dark place. I just wanted another crack at them so bad. I just couldn’t stop thinking about the next chance I could get,” Howard said.
It wasn’t too long before Howard got his second chance with Oregon. After winning the Big Ten Championship, the No. 1 ranked Ducks were seeded for the Rose Bowl. With the Buckeyes easily beating Tennessee at home the previous week, Ohio State faced the Ducks once more.
Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) motions at the line of scrimmage during the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025. Ohio State won 41-21. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
“Before every game, I listen to two voicemails that my late grandmother sent me and I’ve been doing that every game for the last three years now,” Howard said. “I listened to the voicemail and it just brought this immense peace over me. This year for the playoffs it actually probably got me going even more. It really helped.”
Those voicemails helped Howard correct his headspace before facing Oregon in the Rose Bowl. Howard went 17-26 in passing for 319 yards and three touchdowns. The Buckeyes completely shut out Oregon in the first quarter, with the Ducks only responding at the end of the second quarter with a touchdown and two point conversion. Howard reflected on the point in the game where the Buckeyes were up 34-0 against the No. 1 team in the nation.
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Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) holds a rose following the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025. Ohio State won 41-21. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
“Ecstatic. I mean, at that point it felt like it was almost not real. It was like ‘Man, are we really up on the No. 1 team in the country right now that we were in a dog fight with at their place?’” Howard said.
The Buckeyes won against Oregon 41-21, advancing to the Cotton Bowl Classic against the Texas Longhorns, where Howard and the Buckeyes are knocking on the door of a National Championship.
“You take a big National Championship ring and hoisting the trophy up. It takes a lot of the hardships and bad things that happened this year and kind of go out the window,” Howard said.
Lewis & Clark College is opening up its residence halls early to students impacted by the wildfires in Los Angeles. Odell Annex pictured here, is a residence hall on the Lewis & Clark campus in Portland.
Adam Bacher courtesy of Lewis & Clark College
Some private universities in Oregon are offering extra assistance — from crisis counseling to emergency financial aid — to students who call Southern California home.
This comes amid the devastating wildfires currently burning in Los Angeles.
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Lewis & Clark College, University of Portland and Reed College sent out messages of support to students with home addresses in Southern California this week.
Administrators at Lewis & Clark contacted around 250 undergraduate students in the region affected by the blazes. These students represent close to 12% of the college’s current undergraduate students.
The school, which begins its next term on Jan. 21, is opening up its dorms early for Southern California students at no extra cost.
“We will keep communicating with students in the weeks and months ahead to know how this impacts their next semester and beyond,” said Benjamin Meoz, Lewis & Clark’s senior associate dean of students. “That will mean a range of wraparound academic and counseling support.”
Lewis & Clark also pushed back its application deadline for prospective students from the Los Angeles area to Feb. 1.
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Oregon crews arrive in Southern California to aid wildfire response
Reed College began reaching out to about 300 students who live in Southern California on Wednesday. In an email, the college urged students and faculty impacted by the fires to take advantage of the school’s mental health and financial aid resources.
Reed will also support students who need to return to campus earlier than expected. Classes at Reed do not begin until Jan. 27.
Students at University of Portland will be moving back in this weekend as its next term begins on Monday, Jan. 13. But UP did offer early move-in to students living in the Los Angeles area earlier this week. A spokesperson with UP said four students changed travel plans to arrive on campus early.
Students are already back on campus at the majority of Oregon’s other colleges and universities, with many schools beginning their terms earlier this week.
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