I am a volunteer counter of turkeys during July and August for the Maryland Wildlife & Heritage Service. This has been a strange year observing turkeys in far Western Maryland. Instead of the usual hen or two with 8 to 12 peeps, I have seen a group of five hens, several lone gobblers and just a bird here and there, in spite of pretty good weather in early summer for poult survival.
Our very rainy spring made for a lot of thick undergrowth and for late cutting of hayfields. I think that has reduced observations as well.
