Mild winter many birds!!!!!
 

I saw at least 25 birds in a field last night before dark. I went over to eat at the hunt club and every one was talking about how many birds they are seeing. The mild winter must boost up the survival rate????

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RE: Mild winter many birds!!!!!
 

THAT GOOD THAT THE WINTERS WERE MILDER FOR THE TURKEYS.

RE: Mild winter many birds!!!!!
 

Here in NH we have had a mild winter so far. The birds and deer look healthy. I see flocks with more toms than in previous years.
As far as weather affecting the birds I have heard one of the killers of mature birds is very cold weather. Like -25 /-30 F . It creeps up on them in the night leaving them hanging from tree limbs, frozen stiff. Anyone ever seen or heard tell of that ?

RE: Mild winter many birds!!!!!
 

yeah there has been a population explode in wisconsin over the last 10 years or so..it has to do with good management also...but summer rain will hurt alot of poults so a dry summer will bring a higher population the next year...

RE: Mild winter many birds!!!!!
 

The biggest detrimental problems to poults are damp springs and wet summers. The problem is twofold: 1) increased susceptability to disease right after hatching, and 2) decreased food supply early in development.

The biggest food supply for the turkey (at least Easterns) are, interestingly enough, grasshoppers (for the proteins). Grasshopper populations plummet during wet summers, hence smaller poults.

Reduced size entering winter increases the odds for 1) famine, 2) disease, and 3) predation.

And in contrast to what was mentioned previously, heavy winters in the Northern climates can have a dramatic effect on populations. If the snow is too deep, not only will the turkeys struggle to find foods, but will also be easier targets for coyotes and cats.

In the Southern states I'm sure Winter has little effect on the birds, being the major precipitate is rain/ice. Howevef, that's one reason why a good % of Southern mature gobblers have "short" beards--the ice storms freeze the beards in the roost, resulting in "ice rot".

Strut

RE: Mild winter many birds!!!!!
 

i cant tell you why or why not when we have good or bad numbers, all i know is i have seen alot of birds since last summer.got me real fired up about a good season!!!!!!!!!