Va Turkey numbers down by 32%
02-21-2003, 07:23 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Salem VA Salem, VA
Posts: 753
Va Turkey numbers down by 32%
http://www.roanoke.com/roatimes/news/story144912.html
TURKEY
Virginia turkey program manager Gary Norman admits it' s difficult to get an accurate estimate of the success or failure of each spring' s turkey hatch. This year was a perfect example.
Before the fall season, Norman said his field staff was reporting decent sightings of juvenile turkeys, which they took to mean the hatch had been good. Because juveniles account for a large part of Virginia' s fall kill - typically about 60 percent - Norman predicted the fall kill would be similar to last year' s take of nearly 12,000 birds.
Once the check cards were counted, he got different information. The kill was 8,084, a drop of 32 percent from the 2001 season harvest.
Norman now has more solid information about last spring' s hatch: It was awful.
By analyzing feathers from turkeys killed in the fall, biologists get a pretty good picture of the makeup of the population. In 2002, the studies showed 1.4 juvenile turkeys per adult hen. It' s the lowest figure in the 23 years of the study, and not even half of the long-term average.
Hunters east of the Blue Ridge suffered the most. They took 4,125 turkeys, a drop of 45 percent from the previous year. The kill was down just 10 percent west of the Blue Ridge.
The hatch was poor statewide, so why the difference between the eastern and western kills?
A generally poor mast crop in the west helped hunters take more birds because the birds tend to move into open areas to feed when food is scarce in the woods.
" They' re easier to see, easier to hunt and easier to kill," Norman said.
The opposite occurred east of the Blue Ridge, where hard mast crops boomed in many areas. Because turkeys had plenty of available food in the woods, they were harder for hunters to find.
Norman remains somewhat surprised by the poor hatch. A cold snap in May shouldn' t have had much impact because most hens were still incubating their eggs. Early summer didn' t bring the kind of prolonged, heavy and cold rains that can kill newly hatched poults.
Norman is left wondering if the drought might have had an impact. He also wonders if the low hatch may be the turkey' s natural way of slowing the growth of a population that has grown steadily in recent years, even though that kind of natural population control is more common among large animals such as deer.
The poor hatch likely will affect more than just last fall' s turkey kill. Because 2-year-old gobblers make up the majority of birds taken by spring hunters, spring gobbler hunters may experience tougher-than-usual hunting in the spring of 2004.
TURKEY
Virginia turkey program manager Gary Norman admits it' s difficult to get an accurate estimate of the success or failure of each spring' s turkey hatch. This year was a perfect example.
Before the fall season, Norman said his field staff was reporting decent sightings of juvenile turkeys, which they took to mean the hatch had been good. Because juveniles account for a large part of Virginia' s fall kill - typically about 60 percent - Norman predicted the fall kill would be similar to last year' s take of nearly 12,000 birds.
Once the check cards were counted, he got different information. The kill was 8,084, a drop of 32 percent from the 2001 season harvest.
Norman now has more solid information about last spring' s hatch: It was awful.
By analyzing feathers from turkeys killed in the fall, biologists get a pretty good picture of the makeup of the population. In 2002, the studies showed 1.4 juvenile turkeys per adult hen. It' s the lowest figure in the 23 years of the study, and not even half of the long-term average.
Hunters east of the Blue Ridge suffered the most. They took 4,125 turkeys, a drop of 45 percent from the previous year. The kill was down just 10 percent west of the Blue Ridge.
The hatch was poor statewide, so why the difference between the eastern and western kills?
A generally poor mast crop in the west helped hunters take more birds because the birds tend to move into open areas to feed when food is scarce in the woods.
" They' re easier to see, easier to hunt and easier to kill," Norman said.
The opposite occurred east of the Blue Ridge, where hard mast crops boomed in many areas. Because turkeys had plenty of available food in the woods, they were harder for hunters to find.
Norman remains somewhat surprised by the poor hatch. A cold snap in May shouldn' t have had much impact because most hens were still incubating their eggs. Early summer didn' t bring the kind of prolonged, heavy and cold rains that can kill newly hatched poults.
Norman is left wondering if the drought might have had an impact. He also wonders if the low hatch may be the turkey' s natural way of slowing the growth of a population that has grown steadily in recent years, even though that kind of natural population control is more common among large animals such as deer.
The poor hatch likely will affect more than just last fall' s turkey kill. Because 2-year-old gobblers make up the majority of birds taken by spring hunters, spring gobbler hunters may experience tougher-than-usual hunting in the spring of 2004.
02-21-2003, 04:45 PM
#2
RE: Va Turkey numbers down by 32%
Aaaugh!!! I didn' t want to hear that, TScott! 
I just hope Amelia, Powhatan, and Cumberland counties will be okay. I have not (yet) hunted further west near your area, but would like to.
Butch
I just hope Amelia, Powhatan, and Cumberland counties will be okay. I have not (yet) hunted further west near your area, but would like to.
Butch
