The NC opener........

[BowBendr]

...was fun but wierd. I saw some interesting bird behavior today.

The birds where I hunt in western NC are still a little flocked up, so i've been driving about 2 hrs. east to hunt on a piece of land that i've hunted for about 25 years. It's about 100 acres and it is wore out with bird sign, and it isn't hunted much, mostly for deer, by me...it has a small, shallow creek that runs right through it and on off of the property to a small 1 lane dirt road that you access the land from. There is a work crew set up there putting in a new bridge where the creek goes under the road.

There were birds gobbling in there Sunday morning, and I heard them for a long time. They were in there on Tuesday and Wednesday too. They were with hens but they started free gobbling really well around 9 a.m. after being really quiet after leaving the roost. They weren't getting off the property and they were loud and having fun...just prime for killin'.......

Go in this morning and hear nothing. I know i'm with-in 100 yds of their roost. I finally start hearing hen chatter and 6 hens fly down to about 50 yds. from me. The "leader" makes a few yelps and clucks and I answer her. She does it again and I answer again and have them all out in front of me at 20 yds. in about 1 minute.....

They feed around in a 1/2 acre area for about an hour and I just know there's a tom gonna' come dragging up in there. At about 8:15 the leader just lets out a few sharp clucks and flys up about 25' into a big oak. Then, about 30 seconds apart each, they all flew up in various trees all around me and just sat there for an hour or so. They preened and fluffed and shook their feathers, like a bunch of high school girls in front of a mirror....for an hour. I was stuck, couldn't budge, and was forced to sit there and watch the beauty session.

At about 9:15, the leader lets out a few more sharp clucks and pitches out over toward a cut-over. They all pitch out in 6 different directions and as soon as the leader hits the floor she starts yawking. I start whistling and kee keeing back to her and with-in a half hour have them all assembled back in front of me at about 60 yds.. They resume feeding and a few minutes later I hear something coming as 3 jakes come sliding in, but they just kind of fed and scratched around and never really interacted with the hens and they finally fed on off.

This carried on for another 30 minutes as again I hear something coming in from the right. Turkeys exploded everywhere as a big, silver coyote came in fairly fast and loud. They flew off, he kept going, I couldn't shoot. He was too far out.

I believe those hens were waiting for those gobblers. That spot I was in today was where they'd been all week until Thursday. Last Saturday, NC started a week-long youth "season" this year, versus youth "day", like we'd previously had. I don't know if somebody went in there on Thursday or Friday or not...I know those guys building that bridge was hearing them every day/ all day too. The birds weren't 200 yds away up the creek. I don't know if one of them brought their kid in there and killed them or what, but those hens knew those gobblers would come to that spot and those gobblers are gone. Just gone......

Can't hunt on Sunday in NC, got to work Monday, but we'll be back on them Tuesday. Got a bunch more birds located elsewhere. Going to Kentucky next week. Sorry so long..............

[derek]

That's pretty cool about them flying up right over you.  Good luck on Tuesday. 

[ncturkey]

Just come in here to see how y'all were doing. I saw this post from fellow NC member. I just wanted to let you Sunday hunting is know legal on Private lands with a bow.

...was fun but wierd. I saw some interesting bird behavior today.

The birds where I hunt in western NC are still a little flocked up, so i've been driving about 2 hrs. east to hunt on a piece of land that i've hunted for about 25 years. It's about 100 acres and it is wore out with bird sign, and it isn't hunted much, mostly for deer, by me...it has a small, shallow creek that runs right through it and on off of the property to a small 1 lane dirt road that you access the land from. There is a work crew set up there putting in a new bridge where the creek goes under the road.

There were birds gobbling in there Sunday morning, and I heard them for a long time. They were in there on Tuesday and Wednesday too. They were with hens but they started free gobbling really well around 9 a.m. after being really quiet after leaving the roost. They weren't getting off the property and they were loud and having fun...just prime for killin'.......

Go in this morning and hear nothing. I know i'm with-in 100 yds of their roost. I finally start hearing hen chatter and 6 hens fly down to about 50 yds. from me. The "leader" makes a few yelps and clucks and I answer her. She does it again and I answer again and have them all out in front of me at 20 yds. in about 1 minute.....

They feed around in a 1/2 acre area for about an hour and I just know there's a tom gonna' come dragging up in there. At about 8:15 the leader just lets out a few sharp clucks and flys up about 25' into a big oak. Then, about 30 seconds apart each, they all flew up in various trees all around me and just sat there for an hour or so. They preened and fluffed and shook their feathers, like a bunch of high school girls in front of a mirror....for an hour. I was stuck, couldn't budge, and was forced to sit there and watch the beauty session.

At about 9:15, the leader lets out a few more sharp clucks and pitches out over toward a cut-over. They all pitch out in 6 different directions and as soon as the leader hits the floor she starts yawking. I start whistling and kee keeing back to her and with-in a half hour have them all assembled back in front of me at about 60 yds.. They resume feeding and a few minutes later I hear something coming as 3 jakes come sliding in, but they just kind of fed and scratched around and never really interacted with the hens and they finally fed on off.

This carried on for another 30 minutes as again I hear something coming in from the right. Turkeys exploded everywhere as a big, silver coyote came in fairly fast and loud. They flew off, he kept going, I couldn't shoot. He was too far out.

I believe those hens were waiting for those gobblers. That spot I was in today was where they'd been all week until Thursday. Last Saturday, NC started a week-long youth "season" this year, versus youth "day", like we'd previously had. I don't know if somebody went in there on Thursday or Friday or not...I know those guys building that bridge was hearing them every day/ all day too. The birds weren't 200 yds away up the creek. I don't know if one of them brought their kid in there and killed them or what, but those hens knew those gobblers would come to that spot and those gobblers are gone. Just gone......

Can't hunt on Sunday in NC, got to work Monday, but we'll be back on them Tuesday. Got a bunch more birds located elsewhere. Going to Kentucky next week. Sorry so long..............