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The Sportsman's Corner

Where Have All the Turkeys Gone

Sportsmen have been telling me for several years that wild turkey numbers are decreasing locally. I, too, have noticed this in several places.

One of the local "young lions" had 14 trail cameras placed in various locations in the woods last fall. "Rich, from the hundreds of pictures I got on the cameras, I had only one with birds on it. These were six big gobblers. In places I should have gotten pictures of flocks of young birds, I didn't see even a single turkey."

This phenomenon is not just local. Not only are turkey numbers decreasing statewide; they are also declining nationally, according to turkey researchers. There are reasons for this decline.

One is that poult production is decreasing. Researchers in Missouri put part of the blame on deteriorating habitat. They say a reduction in active timber management is harming the birds. Brush cover that turkeys need for nesting is gradually disappearing, which limits places where turkey hens can nest. Zak Denks, a biologist for Missouri Fish and Game, notes that a loss of CRP land and the destruction of fencerows are contributing to declining turkey numbers. With limited nesting habitat, turkeys try to use less-appropriate cover, which allows predators to find their nests more easily. Raccoons are among the predators that are hard on turkey nests.

When the poults hatch, they make easy meals for various predators during the first two weeks of their lives. Once they can fly into the trees, they are much safer. However, avian predators still get some of them.

In Pennsylvania, the decline in turkey numbers has become more noticeable since the introduction of fishers (mini-wolverines), though Mary Jo Casalena, the PGC's wild turkey biologist, tried to minimize the effect of fishers in an article in the "Game News" about a year ago.

Casalena, among others, believes that cold, wet springs, such as those we have endured recently, are hard on young turkeys.

Biologists are also taking a new look at hunting pressure. Mark Hatfield, a biologist for the National Wild Turkey Federation, notes that season lengths and harvest numbers can be adjusted as needed. Some states with severe declines are those with liberal harvest limits. With the highest number of turkey hunters in America, Pennsylvania's two-gobbler limit in the spring is an example. Hatfield wonders if decreased limits would help the turkeys. With technological advances in gear, hunters now have increased (unfair?) advantages.

One bright spot, however, is that recent studies have suggested, so far, that West Nile Virus is not impacting wild turkeys.

 

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