What is happening

[Brillo]

I am hunting an area that is new to me and seeing/hearing birds.  A few in a field, lone hens crossing trails and roads, hen a nice tom walking into the woods having just crossed a road, a lone two year old (or so) crossing the road, birds answering once or twice on the roost.  There seems to be a good supply of birds.  But no gobbling off the roost except for a couple of jakes that I called in.  There is still some snow on the ground and I saw a small flock of about ten birds feeding in a yard near town.  I plan to go back next week for the last week of the season and try again but I have no idea what is going on or what to expect in another week.  Any conclusions from the above parameters about what is going on in the lives of these birds?  Thanks.

[Marc]

How far into the season are you?  How much pressure is the area seeing?  Private or public?  What was the weather like?  What sub-species are you hunting?

All of these things can effect turkey behavior....

From the scenario, I would guess private land towards the back half of the season?  (I would guess private simply by the numbers of birds you are seeing, and the apparent lack of hunter interaction)

I would guess (from the brief description) that most hens are on the nest, and perhaps most are not roosting anymore.  Breeding is winding down (to some degree)...

Where I hunt, at this point in the season, if I can strike up a gobble, I feel like I have a really good chance at a bird.  A bird that gobbles once or twice will likely come in most of the way quiet.  A bird that you can get going will likely tell you where he is at the whole time.  I am more likely to move on the more vocal birds, cause I know where they are, and can reposition on them easier.  The bird that gobbles once or twice, if I make a move it is soon after he gobbles, and quick and decisive; subtle quiet and intermittent calling for this bird, and be patient.

I do not call at birds I can see.  I see birds at a distance, I wait until they are out of sight, and perhaps make a decisive move...  And make sure that he has no chance of seeing me or pinning my location when I call (even if he is a long ways off).  If you call at a bird you can see, he will expect to see the hen that is calling.

For instance...  I am at the top of a ridge, and see a bird below me casually walking.  I wait till the bird is out of sight of me, and go up to the top and over the ridge I am on, and might follow the ridge the same direction the bird is going, before calling.  He should not only not see me, he should not expect to see me.

[Brillo]

Thanks Marc.  Northern Michigan early season here.  Public land, little pressure.  I have seen only 3 or 4 other hunters over 4 days.  Thousands of acres of hardwoods and swamp and clear cuts and CPR fields.
Weather has been overcast, breezy and chilly.  Highs in the 40's.  Trees are budding but no leaves anywhere yet.

[Marc]

I am in California, and birds start gobbling in January/February here...  Could be you will hear more birds gobbling when the weather warms?

Often early in the season here, bird gobble on the roost, and shut up on the ground once with hens.

For me, the hunting generally improves as the season wears on...  Ways that I have killed birds early season (when many toms are henned up):

*Right off the roost before they get to hens.
*Address & Call in a dominant hen, the the toms follow.
*Later morning after many hens go sit on the nest
*Non-dominant bachelor lookin' for love.
*Gobbled back at them and start a dominance fight with a tom...  (Hen yelping/cutting as well as gobbling.  This is done in desparation with henned up birds, and while it usually does not work, I have had it work).  Not a tremendously good idea on public ground.
*Mostly...  Pure dumb luck

[GobbleNut]

Brillo, years ago (decades actually) I had an experience just like yours.  I hunted an area that had a good number of gobblers that were quite vocal, and it was a place that I was certain was not getting hunted much.  I hunted it three weekends (working guy at the time), and I went back to that place each weekend knowing that I was going to kill one of those gobblers.  I didn't!  No matter what I tried of did, they eluded me.  It remains one of the most frustrating turkey hunting springs of my life, and I still don't know why those birds acted the way they did!

I really don't have any words of wisdom to give you,...except,..stick with it!  Persistence and perseverance,...and patience when it is appropriate,...is my best advice.  Turkeys just seem to get into certain moods when, even if there are a lot of them, they just don't want to cooperate. 

Try every trick you know,...and maybe throw in a few that you don't think would work,...and see what happens.  If they are there, and letting you know they are there, there is always the chance that success is right around the corner!  Keep after 'em!

...That is, assuming you have any shells left...   

[Brillo]

LOL.  Try turkey hunting they said.  It will be fun and inexpensive!  Well, so far it is neither.  Pretty fun though.  I hate to admit that I love jakes.  They are hilarious to watch.  I do not think I am close to figuring the rest though.  Thanks for the encouragement.