How smart are they

[potter]

Just finished sika hunting in the Chesapeake tidal marsh.  Lots of turkeys. Was hunting an island surrounded by frag.  That's 10 ft high grass in water.  The only trail to the island is about 1/2 mile long mostly knee deep in water and mud.  On the 20 acre island are some oak trees.  Not many around in a marsh. I found turkey tracks on the trail. My question is do turkeys just randomly follow this trail or do they go there because they remember the acorns from previous years?this trail is the last place I would think to see a track 

[Gooserbat]

I'm not questioning you but I am asking if you're sure it's not some type of egret, heron or crane.  I've seen those tracks here and seen them misidentified.

[Greg Massey]

Interesting ...

[potter]

They might have been other tracks.  But there was turkey scratching sign on island

[GobbleNut]

Just finished sika hunting in the Chesapeake tidal marsh.  Lots of turkeys. Was hunting an island surrounded by frag.  That's 10 ft high grass in water.  The only trail to the island is about 1/2 mile long mostly knee deep in water and mud. 

Based on your description of the trail to the island as being knee deep water and mud, I would be inclined to agree with Sam (Gooserbat) that there is a chance the tracks were from another bird species that make similarly sized tracks.  They can be very difficult to distinguish.  However, the conclusive evidence of verifiable turkey sign on the island means they are getting there somehow, that is if they are not living there year-round.  Perhaps, at different times of the year the trail is not quite so water-covered,...or maybe those turkeys are Osceola's that wandered up from the swamps of Florida?...    

Now, to answer your question about how smart turkeys are, if you qualify the term "smart" as being able to make decisions based on memory and positive or negative stimuli, then yes, I would say they can be quite smart.  In the scenario you describe, I'm not sure the negative circumstance of having to negotiate a half-mile of knee deep water would not override the positive reward of the potential   acorn feast.  Then again, turkeys are quite capable of flying over such obstacles if they view the reward of doing so to be worth the effort. But then again, who knows for sure?...   

The one thing I know about them "for sure" is that they often seem smarter than I am when I am hunting them.  I don't know if that means they are "smart",....maybe just smarter than me!   

[BBR12]

It was only about a 20 ft wide creek but I got a picture of a gobbler wading a creek that had his lower body submerged, probably close to  knee deep for a person. This was in MS. 

The craziest place I've ever seen one was in the middle of a huge swamp in S. LA walking a spoil bank where a canal had  been dug. Coordinates  approx 30.30303, -90.34368, This was approx 22 years ago so not near as many camps there then. We were fishing and saw him from a distance, thought no way so we took off over to where he was and the bird flew when we spooked him so he wasn't a tame turkey.

I think turkeys will go places we don't think they will. I've found turkeys in alot of places over the years that I just scratch my head and wonder why.  If they don't have a reason to be scared of the trail maybe they walked it. 
Also someone mentioned Osceolas. Osceolas were trapped and tranplanted into other parts of the country, it could be that there are some osceola genes in that area.

[silvestris]

No one knows how smart they are.  What we do know is that many are not smart enough to distinguish between a real turkey and a decoy, which is why it is a sporting sin to use a decoy.

[deathfoot]

My grandpa used to say this...

Turkeys are like people. You have some that's smart and those that aren't. The most fun ones are the dumb ones.

[Louisiana Longbeard]

No one knows how smart they are.  What we do know is that many are not smart enough to distinguish between a real turkey and a decoy, which is why it is a sporting sin to use a decoy.

Nah, not hardly. Just because you don't like them, it surely doesn't make it a sporting sin to use decoys. Good grief

[MK M GOBL]

Based on your description of the trail to the island as being knee deep water and mud, I would be inclined to agree with Sam (Gooserbat) that there is a chance the tracks were from another bird species that make similarly sized tracks.  They can be very difficult to distinguish.  However, the conclusive evidence of verifiable turkey sign on the island means they are getting there somehow, that is if they are not living there year-round.  Perhaps, at different times of the year the trail is not quite so water-covered,...or maybe those turkeys are Osceola's that wandered up from the swamps of Florida?...    

Now, to answer your question about how smart turkeys are, if you qualify the term "smart" as being able to make decisions based on memory and positive or negative stimuli, then yes, I would say they can be quite smart.  In the scenario you describe, I'm not sure the negative circumstance of having to negotiate a half-mile of knee deep water would not override the positive reward of the potential   acorn feast.  Then again, turkeys are quite capable of flying over such obstacles if they view the reward of doing so to be worth the effort. But then again, who knows for sure?...   

The one thing I know about them "for sure" is that they often seem smarter than I am when I am hunting them.  I don't know if that means they are "smart",....maybe just smarter than me!   

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