Drumming

[turkeymanjim]

I have pictures of 2 mature gobblers strutting on December 25 2021. The question I have is do the gobblers spit and drum in the winter months when they are strutting, or is the spit  and drum only a spring time vocalization.

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[VAHUNTER]

I never considered spit and drumming vocalization.  Just the noise that comes from the bird blowing himself up. Maybe wrong

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[ChesterCopperpot]

Spitting and drumming aren't dependent on one another, that's one thing I know. I've had a gobbler just spit over and over. I've also had a gobbler just drum over and over. As far as season, I've never heard one do it outside spring but I'd bet they do.


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[ChesterCopperpot]

I never considered spit and drumming vocalization.  Just the noise that comes from the bird blowing himself up. Maybe wrong

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I've heard biologists say it was a vocalization and others swear it wasn't. Lovett Williams talked about what he believed it was but admitted he couldn't prove it one way or another. No biologist that I've ever read or listened to has offered any sort of conclusive evidence on what that sound is or how it's made. Lots of hypotheses and no clear answers.


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[turkeyfool]

I'd probably say it can be a vocalization. Reason I say that is because I've been places like Mississippi where they hit the ground and i'm convinced they just drum loud as hell for hens to hear them

[VAHUNTER]

I never considered spit and drumming vocalization.  Just the noise that comes from the bird blowing himself up. Maybe wrong

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I've heard biologists say it was a vocalization and others swear it wasn't. Lovett Williams talked about what he believed it was but admitted he couldn't prove it one way or another. No biologist that I've ever read or listened to has offered any sort of conclusive evidence on what that sound is or how it's made. Lots of hypotheses and no clear answers.


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Just watching birds strut you can see the spitting and drumming sound go hand and hand with the movement of the bird. Hard to say who is right. Just something that was passed onto me from generations. 

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[ChesterCopperpot]

I'd probably say it can be a vocalization. Reason I say that is because I've been places like Mississippi where they hit the ground and i'm convinced they just drum loud as hell for hens to hear them

I've had a bird do exactly this and he spit and drummed then only drummed then only spit then only drummed on and on and I've never heard it like that since but it was obvious they were two very different sounds and that he commanded them both individually and was doing so with a very distinct purpose.


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[simpzenith]

Drumming is a form of communication (vocalization) and yes, they will do it any time of the year. Odds are, if they're strutting, they're likely spitting n drumming also. Based on my observations of wild and captive gobblers, spitting and drumming go hand and hand with drumming being the intended sound and spitting a secondary (unintended) sound as the gobbler loads up the air to produce the drumming. I've witnessed gobblers drum without spitting (at least I couldn't hear a spit) but I've never witnessed a gobbler spit without also drumming.

[Missouri hunter]

I heard a gobbler drumming on the 1st of December this past deer season. I know sometimes they spit and drum, then others just drum. I also felt like you can't here the spit quit as far as drumming.

[3bailey3]

Man i love that sound, don't think i have ever heard one just spitting..

[Hobbes]

If there are birds strutting, they are likely drumming.  However, some birds do not drum as much as others.  That may just be from one day to the next but I've seen plenty of strutters that weren't drumming and others that I could hear drumming from a long way.

[Tom007]

I don't know if you have experienced hunting with a buddy where one person hears this spitting/drumming, and the other can't. It seems to me that some hunters ears can't pick up this sound. I am lucky enough to have ears that pick it up even from further distances. It's a low, weird sound that seems to elude some people. I do love hearing it....

[PalmettoRon]

I have a buddy I hunt with who often can't hear gobbling or hen talk even though it's relatively close. He usually picks up drumming as quick as I do. My hearing is still acute. That lower pitched drum still seems to register.

I do know one thing, all of us love that sound and you better have your gun up and ready because he's not far.

[Tom007]

I have a buddy I hunt with who often can't hear gobbling or hen talk even though it's relatively close. He usually picks up drumming as quick as I do. My hearing is still acute. That lower pitched drum still seems to register.

I do know one thing, all of us love that sound and you better have your gun up and ready because he's not far.

Amen my friend.

[fallhnt]

Yes,I've heard spitting and drumming while hunting them in the fall. They were strutting at the time.

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