Do Birds move areas when planting starts?

[jhoward11]

Hey all, just curious on your thoughts. I'm in the mid west and weather is looking good, so farmers are starting to get out in the fields. When they start spraying or killing the weeds and insects, will the birds move areas? Also, I have seen where the farmer will put turkey manure on fields and the turkeys are gone. Any thoughts? Wandering if they plant the neighbors farm will the birds come over to ours. Congrats to those who have scored already!!!

[2eagles]

I was in my blind in a field and heard the tractor coming. Oh shoot! Had to move the blind so it wouldn't get run over. I sat and watched as he worked the field north to south, then east to west. It is a small field so only took a couple of hours. I set the blind up again and didn't have to wait long at all before the turkeys came out to feed. Didn't take long to fill my tag!

[Dtrkyman]

Turkeys love fresh tilled dirt, spraying and killing weeds and bugs may be an issue.

I think some of the change is associated with new food sources becoming available at the same time farmers start working fields.

[GobbleGitr]

Was hunting a field edge (I was concealed in timber) a few years ago and working a gobbler.  Sprayer came and was in area for about 30 minutes.  Towards end the farmer came by on 4 wheeler, so I walked out and visited with him.  20 minutes after they left the bird gobbled and I pulled the trigger 10 minutes after that.

[Sir-diealot]

The others have covered the first part so I will leave that alone, as to turkey manure I wish they would stop using it as there has been some evidence that it causes wild turkey to get some diseases that it would not if it were not introduced. Cow manure does not cause this problem as we are talking about diseases directly related to avian, some turkey specific.

[Meleagris gallopavo]

I had 3 honey holes that became devoid of turkeys after chicken manure was spread last year.  I think turkeys will stop feeding in fields where burn down herbicides have been used as well.  They don't seem to get freaked out by equipment too much.  I had a grower call me once to tell me I should come over and kill a gobbler that was strutting and being aggressive around a tractor he was driving once.  I didn't go. 


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