The reason I ask, is that in the past 6 or 7 years, turkeys in the parish I hunt have slowly disappeared. At one time, I would see 20 to 30 a day while deer hunting. I would have many gobblers cruise through my land every Spring. Now I'm lucky to have 2 longbeards aroundmy propertyeach Spring. I have about 4 to 6 regular hens on my place, where it used to be 20 or 30.I have talked to many concerned hunters about this problem. I haven't noticed a successful hatch in years. At first I thought it was caused by clear cutting and predators. This is what everyone in north central and northwest LA. thought. Well, I heard some news the other day that was disturbing to me. The Forestry dept. has been fertilizing pine trees for years in north LA. This fertilizer is not only killing the gum trees, but it is obviously making the turkeys sterile. This is straight from a forester's mouth. This makes sense now. I hope and pray the word is out and action will be taken. If not , then Wild Turkeys will be non existentwhere I hunt. Someone told me the NWTF has heard about this and will try to do something about it, but I don't know for sure. Has anyone else notice turkey numbers going down in their area? I believe I will contact the NWTF and see if they know what's going on and if they are or will take action.
I see your from south of us in Arkansas. Our turkey population has steadily dwindled in the past few years for sure. In fact they cut our season and moved it later last year and this because of it.I hope our turkey population is on the way back up. I think more predator control and habitat improvements should help a lot. It also seems alot of nest get hit by tractors early on when they are on the nest.
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Genesis 27:3
Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison
I see your from south of us in Arkansas. Our turkey population has steadily dwindled in the past few years for sure. In fact they cut our season and moved it later last year and this because of it.I hope our turkey population is on the way back up. I think more predator control and habitat improvements should help a lot. It also seems alot of nest get hit by tractors early on when they are on the nest.
Predators do take a toll on eggs and poults, but this is far worse than that. I've heard just about all of south Arkansas has had a similar problem. If they stop using this fertilizer, the turkeys can come back. I still kill one or two longbeards on my place each year, but if something is not done, there may not be any gobblers left in the very near future. I don't want to have to depend soley on hunting Tennessee every year. I have hunted my land for most of my life, and I would be devastated if the turkeys completely disappeared. Ipray this never happens.
You should get with your neighboring land owners if they are serious about it also and work to keep the numbers up if possible. There are places here where there used to be turkeys and there are few to be found now. I seriously think habitat loss is the biggest problem. The areas that seem to have a ton of turkeys are large woodlands that haven't been clearcut. I don't think turkeys are as adaptable to habitat loss as deer are. They need good quality habitat without alot of human presence and intrusion IMO.
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Genesis 27:3
Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison
I realize habit loss is a major problem. Clear cutting has had a huge impact on populations, but my property and the land I lease is all wooded. Most of the neigboring properties are mostly wooded, so there is more to it than just preditors and loss of habitat. I saw six hens and two longbeards on my property while deer hunting this season, so hopefully at least one of the hens will have a successful hatch, but I haven't seen a hen with poults in about three years. Hopefully it will get better. Good luck in Ark. this season.
Are your turkeys disappearing?
