He’s living on a farm now, but that’s the end of the story, not the beginning.

And Rupert, the red rooster, may be the most famous rooster in Island history.

His story begins in May 2009, when he somehow managed to escape from his original owner.

Alone and outside in strange territory, young Rupert instinctively sought safety in an evergreen tree. He probably would have soon died, if not for the luck of Aasa Jones walking by with her Yorkshire terrier, Spooky. Aasa heard a strange sound, looked up in the tree and saw Rupert’s bright red plumage.

Aasa began feeding the young rooster birdseed. Eventually, she earned his trust and he followed her home, where he found an abundance of food beneath seven bird feeders.

“I named him Rupert, after Rupert Murdoch,” Aasa said. “I feel that Rupert was sent to me and my husband, Harry, to bring color and joy into our lives. Before Rupert, there was another rogue rooster that I named Rubie, who visited our home, but he was soon killed by a dog. I cried for several days after Rubie’s death. But then Rupert showed up. Imagine, two rogue roosters entering into our lives. It all seemed very strange and providential.”

But as Rupert matured, so did his ability to crow. And along with Rupert’s crowing came controversy — legal opinions, published threats, and eventually the polarization of what had been a relatively harmonious neighborhood in the Leonard Circle neighborhood of Vineyard Haven.

He was a traveling minstrel rooster, and some of Aasa’s neighbors loved the idea of Rupert traveling from backyard to backyard. Even though Rupert had his favorite roosting tree, he would sometimes change locations. And with each change of location came a new neighborhood controversy. Some felt honored by Rupert’s presence, but others felt his crowing was an invasion, a terrible noise pollution.

One of Aasa’s neighbors, Kathy Phillips, who rents her home during the summer months, claims two of her repeat tenants didn’t return this year because of Rupert. “I now feel legally obligated to warn my renters about Rupert’s crowing before they rent my house,” she said.

In an e-mail, Ms. Phillips wrote: “Rupert loves whoever will feed him . . . It has occurred to me that the Rupert ‘lovers’ don’t care enough about him to build a shelter and bring him in from sunset to sunrise. He goes into . . . my next door neighbor’s garage. Rupert is only a noise nuisance at night. The rest of the time he is marvelous. I am not anti-Rupert, I just believe everyone is entitled to a good night’s rest!”

Besides Rupert, there are also several flocks of turkeys that live and roost around Leonard Circle. Many neighbors tell stories of seeing Rupert traveling with the turkeys. But not all enjoy the sight.

“This is a residential neighborhood,” said Leonard Circle homeowner Paul Howes. “This is not an agricultural neighborhood that allows farm animals. If our town is legally helpless in dealing with the removal of Rupert, then we should have our taxes reduced to reflect that we are now living in an agricultural zone.”

Rupert’s itinerant presence quickly mushroomed into a town controversy. Tisbury zoning bylaws prohibit the “raising of fowl or livestock” in a residential area without a special permit from the zoning board of appeals. The anti-Rupert folks believed that the town animal control officer or police department should enforce the law and remove Rupert immediately.

However, as they walked around Leonard Circle looking to apprehend Rupert, police and the animal control officer found they were denied access to many properties owned by Rupert’s supporters. Enter the town attorney.

At the Tisbury selectmen’s request, town administrator John Bugbee contacted town counsel David J. Doneski for an opinion. He concluded that private property rights trumped the town zoning bylaws.

In a telephone interview, Mr. Bugbee said: “We learned that our town officials could not trespass onto private property to capture Rupert without permission. However, if Rupert were to wander onto property controlled by anti-Rupert owners, town officials could get permission from them to capture Rupert. Sadly, our municipal toolbox is limited in the tools we can use to remove Rupert from Leonard Circle.”

He continued: “Our town counsel pointed out that our bylaws did not apply to Rupert because he is not owned by anyone. By legal definition, Rupert is a free-roaming wild animal. Therefore, without Rupert’s ownership being ascertained, the town cannot force anyone to apply for a permit.

“Some anti-Rupert people reported seeing Rupert being fed and treated as a pet by some people. However, since Rupert, like any wild bird, is free to travel, roost, and visit anyone’s backyard feeder whenever and wherever he desires — we cannot discriminate against him. In fact, this case is so complex, the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly wrote an article referring to the legal imbroglio caused by Rupert.”

Rupert survived his first winter in 2009-2010. Aasa Jones recalled: “When the first snows came, I would see Rupert’s tracks in the snow where he walked from his roosting tree to the bird feeders. When the big snows came, I would shovel a path from his roosting tree to the bird feeders. It is amazing he survived that first winter. My daughter and I set up a small house with hay in it for Rupert, but he would only use it occasionally during the day. He always roosted in the trees at night — including all kinds of extreme weather.”

During 2010, Rupert roamed Leonard Circle, crowing at all hours of the day and night. In January 2011, some people began to wake up to the fact that Rupert’s presence was not just a passing novelty.

Leonard Circle is a close-knit Island neighborhood where they occasionally have potluck block parties. And even though there are occasional misunderstandings and disagreements — Leonard Circle cordiality always prevails.

But the Leonard Circle atmosphere changed when Rupert took up residence.

June Parker, who lives in the northeast corner of the circle, found the rooster’s presence upsetting. Ms. Parker has kept a journal for many years, and her journals from 2009 to the present contain numerous notations documenting Rupert’s disruptions. In one entry on May 23, 2009, she wrote: “The damn rooster wakes me up at 4:30 [a.m.]. About the time I doze off he sounds off again like a barking dog. I wonder if he bothers anyone else. Trying to go to sleep is impossible, so I get up and read.”

Her bedroom windows face Jim and Trude Hart’s home — one of Rupert’s favorite roosting locations. In the off-season, when Ms. Parker’s windows are closed, Rupert’s crowing is somewhat muffled. But during hot summer days, Ms. Parker has to open her windows. “I bought a loud fan to help mask Rupert’s crowing. I also use earplugs and put pillows over my ears to get some sleep,” she said. “I have suffered from sleep deprivation, this has affected me psychologically. Having been raised on a farm, I am familiar with roosters’ cock-a-doodle-dooing at dawn, but this is throughout the day and also the night.”

On the flip side, Jim and Trude Hart loved to hear Rupert singing. “There are a few people in the neighborhood that don’t appreciate the fact that Rupert crows at odd hours,” Mr. Hart said. “He’s liable to crow at any time day or night — midnight, two or three in the morning, whenever. There are many people in the neighborhood that feed Rupert, but we also feed squirrels, skunks, turkeys, a variety of birds and several neighborhood cats. We not only take care of our feathered friends, but we also care for our furry friends.”

It is not unusual to see Mr. Hart and his neighbor Laurie Marotta feeding Rupert. “Sometimes he follows me around like a puppy dog,” Mr. Hart said. Both Mr. Hart and Ms. Marotta have allowed Rupert to come inside their homes.

How many people in the neighborhood love Rupert? Trude Hart guestimated, “At least 70 per cent of the homeowners on Leonard Circle love Rupert,” she concluded.

Rupert is a survivor. He has lived outdoors through two harsh Island winters; he has survived two dog attacks — one of which left him without a tail, bloodied and limping — he has dodged a handful of hawk attacks and survived several big black cat attacks.

He has also eluded capture from people wielding garbage cans, butterfly nets, and by those who try to catch him by running and diving after him with their bare hands. There is one report of two hired bounty hunters cruising the neighborhood searching for Rupert. “Early one morning I looked out the window and saw a stranger sneaking around our backyard. I presume he was looking for Rupert. When the man saw me, he immediately ran out of my yard,” Mr. Hart said.

Recently, June Parker placed a borrowed Havahart trap along the edge of her property facing Jim Hart’s property. At early twilight Rupert walked into the trap sprinkled with sunflower seeds.

Nancy Gardella, who lives in a nearby neighborhood, was walking her aging dog around Leonard Circle when she saw Rupert inside the trap. Ms. Gardella, a Rupert supporter, immediately ran to Jim Hart’s house and sounded the alarm. Mr. Hart tried to release Rupert from the trap, but he said Ms. Parker opened her door and yelled, “Get off of my property.” The Harts telephoned Rupert’s friends. By the time supporters arrived at the scene, the trap with Rupert was gone.

Rupert’s friends were sad and alarmed. Some cried. One drove to the town pond looking for Rupert.

About two hours later Rupert was found literally knocking with his beak at the Hart’s back door. Trude Hart opened the kitchen door and Rupert walked in. She fed the rooster his two favorite foods — dried cranberries and grapes. Except for some missing and ruffled feathers around his neck, the rooster appeared uninjured.

Rupert’s supporters held a series of telephone conferences and private meetings. All agreed on the need to find a safe and loving home for Rupert. Several locations were considered and rejected for a variety of reasons.

As happens on the Vineyard, a friend who knew about the neighborhood dilemma was attending a party on a farm, where he noticed a flock of hens roaming without a rooster. After some inquiries, the farmer agreed to take on Rupert.

So a few days ago Rupert was coaxed into a cage with bird seed. A blanket was gently placed over the cage, and within an hour, he was relocated to a beautiful Island farm. Some of his friends accompanied him to say goodbye.

Reports from the farm are good. Rupert did a cockerel dance to romance his harem of 12 hens. The farm’s owners may allow Rupert to father some chicks in the spring of 2012.

And Rupert’s crowing at all hours of the day and night bothers no one; in fact it fits right in with the sounds of the farm.

William Waterway (Marks) was raised on an organic farm. He is a poet, environmental book author, photographer and flute player who lives in Katama.