NY's turkey numbers?

[sits in trees]

i have heard some talk of turkey numbers being down this year in NY. and i havent seen the usual huge 20 and 30 bird flocks cruising threw my fields this winter and saw very little during last deer season in the woods in the way of turkeys...what are you guy's seeing and hearing?

[sweet old bill]

a wet spring last year, a number of yote having dinner in and around are fields. I went from seeing some days in year past 50 to 60 birds when the ston melted off the filed to just about 6 or 9 birds.

[G-Man]

Bad hatches last 2-3 springs did a number on them. have seen 1 flock of gobbles (6) and one mixed about(50). there was a lot of food in the woods last fall and a lot still available to them there,apple seeds, nuts,ect that they can easily get to due to lack of snow this year. On the brightside if you do get a gobbler this year he's probably going to have a longer beard as they tend to loose the end of it it by dragging around in deepsnow where it can freeze and snap off!

[Four Season Whitetail's]

We have over 150 birds that have been on the farm all year. It seems up here we have more birds this year then in years past. We had over 700 acres of soybeans last year so there is plenty of snacks for them here.

[SplitG2]

numbers are down at my place. yotes and last two springs were wet.

700 acres of soybeans! for what purpose? silage?

[hunter49]

3 flocks of 20-40 birds each around here I have been seeing the last 2 weeks.Looking good here.

[RangerClay]

Coyotes have decimated our flocks around central Madison County. The hill we hunt used to be covered with turkeys and now they they are all but gone. I never had a single bird answer me on opening day last year. 10 years ago the 4 of us would tag out but those days are gone.

[jusputtn]

Numbers are way down in southern herkimer county.

[maytom]

I haven't seen any birds while deer hunting this past season, or for that matter out in the fields when driving? You'd think with the very mild winter weather we have had this year, many birds will have made it through with flying colors!!!

[nyantler]

I usually am not an alarmist when it comes to not seeing game some years.. and I'm not even sure that turkey numbers are down... but i will admit that I haven't seen the amount of turkeys I usually see this time of year... but my eyes aren't what they use to be..LOL

[Woodsman20]

On our "Florida" Wednesday this week they were everywhere. Tomorrow would be a good day to scout them out - maybe even here some gobbles. The only problem is by the time our season opens the birds you see now will be in a different area by then.

[Fantail]

Does the hatching & spring have an affect - absolutly.

This thread also reminds me of an issue on an old lease years ago. Bad coyote, possum & racoon problem. I was motivated to buy a new rifle, long story short 3 years later - Turkeys returned. That was alot of time and work though. Not to mention fuel was only about 1.50 a gallon to get there. Plus I did alot of squirrel hunting back then.

Critter control? Well I think most of us concentrate our efforts to attract & hunt game, I know I do. Not alot of value behind hunting coyotes other then reducing the nucance. But it's definatly a problem. One goal I have for the property this year is take out 2-3 more coyotes.

edit - slightly off topic, sorry, but a coyote season doesn't make alot of sence to me. We should be allowed to disrupt their breeding cycle and dispatch them year round.

Edited March 21, 2012 by Fantail

[Uncle Nicky]

I only hunt my property in NY a few times a year, $4/gallon gas isn't helping matters. But I HAVE noticed when coyote activity is down, I do see more turkeys. Last fall I saw lots of birds during deer season, so I'm optimistic about this spring.

[Grouse]

I've been seeing far fewer turkey these last two springs. Not much gobbling and far fewer shots fired during the first week of turkey season. I agree having a coyote season is dumb. We should be able to shoot them anytime without limit!

[Four Season Whitetail's]

This pic was taken a little while back but they are all still here. Now there are probably 20 strutters in the group and they are starting to spread out into the other soybean fields. At this pic there were upwards of 150 birds in the one flock.

[SteveNY]

Never see very many in Southern 3A anyway, so I don't know about here.

Last year I shot my first gobbler ever. (16 years of hunting turkey, on and off)

[Cabin Fever]

About 10 years ago, turkeys use to be thicker than squirrels in my area. On an "average" morning of bowhunting in the fall, I would see 30-50 turkeys and hear several other different flocks. For the past 6-7 years, they are almost unheard of! Nothing has changed. I also keep 4-5 trailcams out year round and seldom ever get any pics of turkeys.

Don't know what else to blame, other than predation... A raccoon, opossum, or skunk can wipe out an entire "flock", by raiding nests while their still in the eggs. Then, they still have to get by fox, coyotes, and birds of prey while their growing. I guess I have to take part of the blame for not doing anything to help keep the predator numbers in check.