WAUWATOSA, Wis. — "Cards are coming. Packages are coming as Christmas gifts, and we're all wondering, where are they?" said Natalie Thiel. She and several of her Wauwatosa neighbors received notices this week that their packages could not be delivered. They were being blocked by "animal interference." "I don't have a dog or a cat, so we were kind of questioning why," Thiel said. But the mystery was solved when she witnessed a flock of wild turkeys on her block chasing a FedEx truck. "It's turkeys. Turkeys are my animal interference," Thiel said. The same thing is happening in several Wauwatosa neighborhoods where the turkeys have settled in.
As 12 News reported in March of this year, the birds have frequently been seen attacking postal and delivery trucks and drivers. Some drivers have resorted to carrying sticks to fend off the turkeys while making deliveries. "It's like they claim the territory," said Wauwatosa resident Jeff Durr, "so it does hamper the mail people when they come through here, and the delivery people from FedEx, or UPS." One postal carrier told 12 News that mail delivery was held up on at least one block on Friday morning, as the turkeys blocked the postal carrier's path. The birds, who often travel in groups of up to 15 or 20, can be especially troubling at this time of year for anyone anxiously waiting for holiday cards and gifts. "We're waiting for the turkeys to go away," Thiel said, "and waiting for our Christmas packages and our deliveries."