TURKEY POPULATION ????

[saltysenior]

 
Came across a very well written article in an old (Nov-Dec '13) Audubon magazine....lots of data concerning the decline of turkeys in the S.E.    I see it myself and from harvest reports...To make a long story short, I tried to reach people who are doing research on this occurrence with out many answers...hard enough to reach them,yet get any info...Has anyone come across any recent results or answers that have come out of all these studies??......Anyone have any thoughts of their own?? 

[silvestris]

https://www.audubon.org/magazine/wild-turkey-rocks

Is this the article you were referring to?  I suspect that the decline is a perfect storm of factors with nest disturbing predators (lack of trapping due to laziness and do gooders who frown on the wearing of fur) and changing habitat management practices being the primary factors.

[Old Gobbler]

Not to mention more people hunting turkeys than ever

[Devastator]

Not to mention more people hunting turkeys than ever

That's what im seeing up here in Pa.,getting worse every spring.

[chadly]

Personal observation here in Iowa the numbers seem down.  Nothing I've read just my conclusion.  Lots of hunters in the spring for sure. 

[silvestris]

Unfortunately, turkey hunting doesn't lend itself to pressure.  Squirrel, deer, rabbit, yes, but you do the game a disservice when the introduction of others becomes your aim..  Take them squirrel hunting.

[saltysenior]

the population declines i have witnessed have occurred in very different settings.....strict limits and seasons,  no poaching involved , favorable weather, private leases, big woods/ small woods, ect....seems like the population grows and for some reason it then rapidly gets smaller....seems like when they expand their territory , they do real good for a while..(see Marlboro,NJ turkey problem)......predators,even ants may be part of the problem, but a summation of what i've seen and researched points to some sort of disease or virus....

[M Sharpe]

A BIG BUNCH of predators eat a BIG BUNCH of turkeys to the point that the turkey numbers drop way down, for a few years the predator numbers level off, then starts to decline due to the lower numbers turkeys. When they reach all time lows, the turkey numbers start to increase. As they increase, they level off for a few years, but then here comes those predators back again. We learned this as the cycle of life among wildlife, back in school many years ago. Factor in diseases and the ever growing number of hunters.

There was even a theory one time, that we may even be killing out all of the gobbling birds. Don't know how that ever panned out. Sometimes, I think there may be some truth to that....

[nativeks]

All of mother natures populations rise and fall. Here in this part of Kansas we were the highest in the late 90s-early 2000s. It started slipping in 2007. We are starting to see some rebounding.

[saltysenior]

All of mother natures populations rise and fall. Here in this part of Kansas we were the highest in the late 90s-early 2000s. It started slipping in 2007. We are starting to see some rebounding.
[/quote

cycles ,,im a believer.......typed up a long entry for this thread,,but pressed the wrong button, its in cyber space somewhere
with your population falling, did any of the folks who get paid to be turkey experts come up with answers ?(not theories , I have them for free)....many agencies and the NWTF do not come up w/ answers when the count goes down, but do not hesitate to pat their backs and blow steam when the count is up ..

[silvestris]

High predator populations can cause a decrease in prey species such as turkeys, but turkeys are too small of a percentage of the meat eating predator's diet to affect the populations of the meat eating predators one way or the other.

[Happy]

 I think the population fluctuates for many reasons. Bad hatches and wet summers, all the varmints we have now and more hunting pressure than ever. Another thing I have noticed over the years around here is that every four years or so most flocks relocate for a year or two and then come right back. Giving the appearance of fewer birds. My best guess is that they are just finding better forage after being raked over for so long and then when the area get a break it replenishes and with it come the birds. Not sure I did a good job of explaining it but I can usually tell when it's coming and I will remark that they are about to make there "swing" as I call it.

[turkaholic]

Here in CT our population is crashing. I have a small farm and had a winter flock of 60 to 80 birds in my fields regularly back in 2002. Now if I see a flock of 12 I am amazed. I have outstanding habitat for them with hard woods and great nesting areas. We have a lot of predators, we see many Bobcats and I have already shot 2 coyotes this fall. In NY we have a camp and hunt for 3 out of the 4 week season. Last year was the absolute worst. It was depressing how few birds gobbled. When you did find a few birds they clammed up and acted very strange. On 2 occasions I called in coyotes looking for a easy meal. They got lead. Now NY has changed there Fall season from nearly 1 month to 2 weeks. I don't know what to do but it is very disturbing. Where is the NWTF? I would expect they would be more proactive. Start a restocking program again. What seems strange to me is how well populations are doing in populated areas. Turkeys walking in Boston is a common sight. Also in large towns they are everywhere. Why do the thrive even with predators among them. Every day you hear about some neighborhood pet killed by a coyote in some town. But the turkeys are surviving there, WHY? I would think the call industry would also be proactive. How many new calls will you be buying when you can't even hear a gobble. HELP is what the turkeys need, NOW! Not 10 years from now. As for hunters I don't see nearly the amount of guys hunting anymore in my areas. Not much to shoot at and not everyone has the drive when the woods are SILENT.

[saltysenior]

   your description of what you see in CT. is mirrored thru out the eastern U S....seems to be ignored,except by those sitti'n in the woods who see this occurring..

   As far as the NWTF is concerned, I gave em back my card in Edgefield,SC. the 2nd year they had the new building...went there to enquirer about the turkey die off in Fisheating Creek WMA , Fl.  They where no help and basically told me there would no info to this matter....I guess things have not changed ...

[nativeks]

cycles ,,im a believer.......typed up a long entry for this thread,,but pressed the wrong button, its in cyber space somewhere
with your population falling, did any of the folks who get paid to be turkey experts come up with answers ?(not theories , I have them for free)....many agencies and the NWTF do not come up w/ answers when the count goes down, but do not hesitate to pat their backs and blow steam when the count is up ..

I already had a good idea of why. We flooded for 4 consecutive years. Then folks were coming to Kansas and laying waste to anything with a beard. A local biologist also said blackhead had a small part to play as well. I remember when populations were high and it was rare to see another hunter. Last year the public was so bad the guys running it say they need to do a draw to take pressure off the resource. However the manager said it would be political suicide.

Watch at some point when the coyotes get really overpopulated a disease will wipe them out. Same thing is racoons and distemper. Then you will see populations explode. Many people just happened to get into turkey hunting at the peak of the cycle and now that it has dropped off the sky is falling.