Here is something else you can do when scouting, especially if you have the time to get out and walk. Spend time learning the lay of the land. Learn about the fences, the creeks, the impenatrable (sp?)thickets, the ridges, the valleys, the clearings and the food sources. Also learn the boundaries of the lands you have access to.

If you hear a distant gobbler, come hunting time, it is nice if you have a familiarity with the land so you can imagine where that bird is at--is he gobbling from a woods road, aclearing in the woods, a field?--and so you can mentally picture where he is likely to go/how he will come to you/how/where you should move to get set up on him. If you know about a fence or creek between you and the gobbler, you will know if he is likely to get hung up by it, for example, and adjust your approach and location accordingly.

Another thing I sometimes do when I'm scouting, especially by active green fields, is build natural vegetation blinds, especially if there is an exceptional place where a blind will be useful, like a point that sticks out into a field or a place near a likelyfield exit/entrance. I don't make elaborate blinds, just a couple of downed tree branches or such, in a loose pile, that will help me in concealment, if I choose to sit there come hunting time.

Be careful when scouting!! Sometimes I find myself looking at the ground toomuch, looking for those tracks, feathers or droppings, and I have looked up to see a turkey or turkeys scooting awayin the woods a couple hundred yards ahead of me. I've often thought that had I moved more slowly, and looked up, rather than down, more often, I'd have seen those birds and not spooked them, and been able to monitor their activity. I also use my ears in scouting, listening for both gobblers and hens. I always wear camo when scouting, too, and carry my face mask and locator calls.

Of course, lookat the trees, to envision their suitability as roost sites. For me, this involves assessing the branches--turkeys need a decent branch to support their weight, and the branch has to have a degree of "horizontalness"to it. Birds can't roost very well on 100% vertical branches. And I look for trees I feel are attractive for roosting. This generally means near (but not necessarily "at") a field edge, a tree in a place wherethe turkey can fly downto a clear landing zone. I then look for feathers and droppings, of course, to see if the tree is actually used as a roost tree.

Another tree I find gets used a lot is a tree on the edge or growing over the edge of a sharp hillside. I imagine the turkeys like these trees because it is a short hop up into the tree (more of a flight over than up)and an easy drop down in the morning.

Lastly, I try to devise a "pattern", both for the turkeys and for myself, if I have the time in scouting. By this I mean I try to develop a plan for my day's hunt, which means I try to move around to the places I feel (or know) the turkeys will be at during various times of the day. In other words, over the course of a day I might start outnear a roost site, then move toa strut zone, then a dusting area, then an afternoon cool spot, then an eveningroost/flyup area.If I know the turkeys always frequent a watering tank at 2:00 in the afternoon, I'll be waiting there at 1:00, etc.