Professor Darryl Jones of Griffiths University has been studying the Australian Brush Turkey for 22 years and estimated there were “probably five times” the number of Brush turkeys in Australia now than there were in 2010.

It is almost impossible to move a Brush turkey on once it has started building a mound, he said.

So prevention is the best policy.

• An entire army of Brush turkeys is invading Sydney

He recommended making it hard for the birds to scratch the ground surface – for example, pegging chicken wire over the ground or replacing mulch with rocks or pebbles.

Covering particularly loved plants with netting also frustrated the birds.

On the other hand, some gardeners have learned to accommodate the Brush turkey.

Prof Jones said one wealthy retiree, tired of a bird wrecking his flower beds, had a truck load of mulch delivered to his property to make it easier for the Brush turkey build his mound.