BRIGHTON (WWJ) -- Some parents in Livingston County's Brighton are more than a little irked by the antics of a big, brown bird that's been interfering with drop-off at the local middle school. It turns out, the squawker is a pet.
One Brighton resident, who asked to be referred to only as "Joe," has a child who attends Scranton Middle School and says this particular turkey has been blocking cars from entering and exiting the school, on Maltby Road.
He called the situation "mildly infuriating."
"(Drop off) is already a mess, but add this in and it’s maddening," Joe told WWJ Newsradio 950. "It’s been happening daily and I’ve heard it even happened last year."
Thankfully, with the help of Joe and other residents, WWJ reported the story and brought attention to the turkey's owner.
It turns out, the turkey is named "Dinner." His owner was not aware that the turkey escapes his enclosure to squawk at cars in the line. The resident said the turkey gets mad when all the cars show up for drop off.
Dinner's owner called WWJ and told us he had no idea his bird was doing this because whenever he heard commotion and checked on Dinner, the fowl was in his cage. The man is now aware his pet escapes to play "chicken," crossing into the road and sneaking back into his enclosure without being noticed by the hand that feeds.
Joe shared photos snapped by his son showing Dinner strutting confidently in the street Tuesday morning, bringing drop-off traffic to a standstill.
Other parents have posted pics of the bird in a Scranton parents forum on social media, where opinions are mixed as to what, if anything, should be done about it.
Joe said while some parents seem to think the turkey is pretty cute, others aren't laughing.
"It's pretty annoying when you have a small window to get your kid to school," he said. "It should be re-located. There's a massive nature preserve nearby. My guess is someone feeds it."
While Joe assumed this is a wild turkey, other parents were correct to hypothesize that the turkey could belong to someone in the area.
This comes as people have been chatting about wild turkey sightings all around Metro Detroit, when the bird are known to be quite active. In August, the DNR asked Michigan to report wild turkey sightings as a part of an official survey.
Dinner's owner did not disclose what he will do to keep his pet in his enclosure and keep peace with middle school residents.
A call by WWJ to Brighton Area Schools for comment was not immediately returned.