Need some help Scouting!

[Stout33]

Sorry for the rookie question, but I am in some serious need of help. This is my first season hunting ever and I am having a really tough time finding turkeys. I have watched videos and read countless articles about scouting tips but nothing is working. I am from Maryland and checked various forests that i have heard have turkey, however, I can't even seem to get a gobble. The season is 1 week away and I really just want to see a turkey let alone bag one. Can anyone give me some advice on how to go about scouting? Also, any tips on what to look for to even indicate that turkey are in the forest? This would all be a huge help; I hope everyones season is going well and I look forward to hearing back from you!

[nantzh]

I think the easiest way to find out if there are turkeys in an area is to be there at sunrise and listen for them gobbling on the roost or the hens yelping. 

If you don't hear any on the roost you can walk around and look for turkey scratching in the woods.  This is usually pretty obvious.  It looks just like it sounds, someone scratched the leaves back to expose dirt.  Usually the leaves will be scratched back from an area the size of a dinner plate or so and there will be lots of these close to one another. 

[dirt road ninja]

I think the easiest way to find out if there are turkeys in an area is to be there at sunrise and listen for them gobbling on the roost or the hens yelping. 

If you don't hear any on the roost you can walk around and look for turkey scratching in the woods.  This is usually pretty obvious.  It looks just like it sounds, someone scratched the leaves back to expose dirt.  Usually the leaves will be scratched back from an area the size of a dinner plate or so and there will be lots of these close to one another. 

X2
Are you sure the ground you are on has birds?

Look for tracks and do an internet seach on turkey droppings. By looking at the droppings it is very easy (even for a novice) to deterime the sex of the bird.
Like nantzh said get there in the dark and listen.

[Stout33]

Thanks for the advice! I will be trying that this weekend. I just assumed that turkeys are where I heard. I did see a couple of deer on the land, however, maybe there are no turkeys on the land. Hope I hear some gobbles!