Is that true? Could the past mild winter have had an impact?
Yes and no, according to interviews with two wildlife biologists and two turkey hunting guides. The season in this state opened May 1 and closes May 31. Only one male bird may be taken per day and the limit is two per season.
Local bird numbers are down a little. Turkey populations hinge on the success of each spring’s breeding. The past several years have seen a high mortality rate among poults (baby turkeys) because of wet and cold weather, experts said.
The cold can cause hypothermia, and the wetness accentuates their scent, making them more detectable to predators such as coyotes and foxes.
“Everyone is talking about (not seeing as many birds) in New York ... and also, from Michigan to Iowa,” said Bill Porter, a former SUNY ESF professor and current Boone and Crockett professor of wildlife conservation at Michigan State.
“You have to look at the weather in May each year. It’s been a couple of years since we’ve had a really dry May,” he said.
But Porter and others said there are still a lot of birds out there.
“We hear this every year (about there not being enough turkeys),” said Lance Clark, a senior wildlife biologist at the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Cortland office. “It’s a mixed bag. Some hunters aren’t (bagging birds), while others have had no problems.”
But where are they?
Clark and the turkey guides said the mild winter has resulted in slightly different behavior from the birds. During the cold, snowy months in the past, large flocks of turkeys, as many as 100 or more, could be seen in open fields across Central New York, feeding on everything from left-over corn to undigested food in cow manure.
“This winter, they didn’t have to come out in the fields to feed,” Clark said. “They stayed in the woods where they found food and there was more (protection) from predators.”
With the arrival of spring and the longer days, the bird’s breeding instincts have kicked in, Clark said. However, what’s happening this year is that the turkeys broke up into smaller flocks earlier than usual, and rather than feeding in open fields — where hunters are used to seeing them — they’re staying in the woods more often than not.
Mike Joyner, of McGraw, a turkey hunting guide and author, said the change in behavior calls for a change in hunting style, with a greater reliance on scouting for roost areas and turkey signs, such as scat, scratch marks on the ground and feathers under trees where they roost each night.
Is there anything to the complaint that birds are responding less to calls?
Joyner said at times that appears to be happening locally, but he’s heard reports from other guides up north — in Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties — that it’s business as usual.
Wayne Masters, of Tully, a licensed outdoors guide specializing in spring turkey hunting, has been hunting turkey for more than 40 years. Each season, he said, there’s “a lull” in the turkey gobbling due to the leafing out of trees, particularly maples. He said it usually happens around the middle of the season, but it happened earlier this year.
“It drives hunters crazy. All of a sudden the gobbling stops,” he said. “Wild turkeys are paranoid about what they can see and what they can’t see. When the trees leaf out, they become way more cautious. Typically, it takes them about 10 days to adjust.”
He predicts a strong second half of the season. His advice?
“If you want to kill a turkey, just go. They’re out there,” he said. “Find a place where they roost, go there in the early morning, sit down, be patient and don’t drive yourself crazy because you don’t hear a lot of gobbling.”
He recommended one more thing: “Be the first hen to call in the morning and call sparingly.”