Sparring Bucks, Gobbling Turkeys, and the Great Horned Owl
Look at these big bucks sparring in late February!
While most deer hunters are out shed hunting this time of year, these two bucks were caught on the Tactacam Cell Camera sparring on February 21st.
If you still have bucks holding strong, or even having some fun like these two, send us those photos at eastoutdoors@outlook.com. We’d love to share them with our readers.
Thanks to Trevor Austin, of Lexington, KY, for sharing this photo!
Glutton for Gobbling!
Thunderous gobbles of a wild turkey echoing off the hills on a brisk spring morning will ignite a hunter’s soul. That first gobble can send a hunter onto one of the most maddening cat and mouse games that can be experienced outdoors. It’s intoxicating. Turkey hunters love to hear turkeys’ gobble. Gobbling influences hunter satisfaction.
Discussion and debate over the causes of the wild turkey population decline have amplified in recent years. Habitat, predation, harvest, disease and human disturbance have all been named as top contributing factors to the decline. Some of these factors have an incredible number of variables that will require years of data collection to fully understand how to address the issues. However, harvest results can produce measurable data within a reasonably short amount of time so that we can understand how harvest impacts gobbling and turkey decline.
Groundbreaking wild turkey harvest research shows that poor harvest management can cause you to have less birds and hear less gobbling.
Digesting Data
Wildlife biologists have radio collared over 1,000 male turkeys across several states to help track survival, mortality rates and harvest rates, according to Dr. Michael Chamberlain, Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Management at the University of Georgia. The information collected in the study is the largest known freight data set ever collected.
In the study, biologists tagged toms on public hunting land, private land and on land sites that are not exposed to hunting at all. Results showed that gobbler survival rates were much lower in areas where hunting occurred. About 54% to 55% of the tagged birds survived in areas that are hunted, according to Chamberlain. On non-hunted sites, gobblers had 80% survival rates.
Contrary to belief that public land birds get hammered harder than private land birds, data showed consistent harvest rates at 29% to 30% between the two. Public land birds are not getting taken as much as we think. Success on private and public lands is about the same.
Predation rates were also calculated in the data gathered from the study. Predation percentages were the same in every area where gobblers were collared. Around 15% of the gobblers were killed by predators. Harvests took far more gobblers than predators did.
Time of Harvest
Intensive high harvest of gobblers early in the breeding season disrupted nesting to the point that it had a measurable impact on the population within the testing site, according to Chamberlain. This is crucial information that needs presented to state agencies so that turkey season dates can be adjusted to avoid hunting early in the breeding season. If you feel season dates need to be addressed in your state, contact your local district wildlife commissioners and kindly voice your concerns.
In testing sites absent of hunting, the population being monitored is about 80% more productive than all hunted populations.
Data from the non-hunted sites is to create a benchmark. We know what populations look like in non-hunted areas and we know what the populations look like when turkeys are being harvested. This is not to say we must stop hunting altogether, but these results suggest we pay attention to how many birds we harvest.
Manage Your Harvest
If you want to improve your turkey population and hear more gobbling to maintain hunter satisfaction, manage your turkey harvests. As mentioned above, on non-hunted sites, 80% of the collared gobblers survived. If you don’t shoot birds, they will survive and be there next year. You will also have better production, which will increase your population.
State regulation changes are not made quickly, but hunters can control the number of birds they decide to take each spring. No one forces a hunter to fill all tags. If you aren’t hearing turkeys gobble or feel bird numbers are down; impose a conservative harvest management plan for your property.
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Avian Predators Affect Our Turkey Population
In recent years across many southeastern states hunters, land managers and government agencies have noticed and alarming downward trend in overall turkey populations. According to the National Wild Turkey Foundation (NWTF) there has been a 15% decrease in total turkey numbers throughout the nation.1 The wild turkey is a beloved game bird and is responsible for bringing in millions of dollars for local economies and for natural resource management support via Pittman-Robertson funds. This decrease has been attributed to several factors including:
• Over harvest in some states
• Certain agricultural practices
• Lack of private land management
• Increase in predator populations
• Decrease in furbearer trapping/ hunting 3
In this article we want to discuss the fourth point in some detail. When most people hear that an animal’s numbers are decreasing the first thing they think of is predators and that is certainly a fair assumption in this case. Predators such as bobcats, skunks, racoons, opossums, coyotes, and foxes will certainly eat turkey eggs, poults, as well as adult birds.
Most of these larger mammals are very adaptable and continue to thrive as the shift from wildlands to urban areas continues. However, a factor that seems to be overlooked in the conversation is the presence of our native birds of prey and their effect on turkey numbers. We have several native raptor species in Kentucky and throughout the southeast. However, we want to focus on three today for simplicities sake as these three are the only species that are capable of killing/have been reported killing an adult turkey.
NOTE: There are several smaller raptors that are theoretically capable of taking poults however these species are more specialized for taking songbirds, insects, or small mammals and no information is available supporting the claim that kestrels, broad winged hawks, eastern screech owls etc hunt poults on a regular basis.
Great Horned Owl
One of the most intimidating and vicious predators to ever terrorize the eastern forests, the Great Horned Owl is the second largest owl in North America (Snowy owl being first). These birds are efficient predators of just about anything that moves, their list of prey includes over 500 different creatures across their range. The shape of their feathers allows owls to approach silently while their massive feet and talons can apply up to 500lbs of force to their unlucky victim1, making dispatching of their meals a quick process.
In an episode of the Meat Eater podcast turkey biologist Dr. Michael Chamberlain, stated that “Great horned owls are an efficient predator of turkeys because they kill them in the tree…they kill adult toms to we find that they do that early in the morning while the birds are gobbling.” Additionally, a study of turkey predation events in Georgia recorded that 19% of their turkeys that died were killed by Great Horned owls.
Great horned owls are a federally protected species so although predator removal is a strategy sometimes employed to help support local populations of turkeys there are hefty consequences for harming one of these. For the great horned owl the world is their buffet and the turkey is another item on their plate.
Red-tailed Hawks
Also known as the “chicken hawk’’ the red-tailed hawk is the largest species of hawk in Kentucky and the most common throughout the United States.5 Commonly seen on powerlines, fenceposts or edge trees overlooking agricultural fields this bird is named for its striking red tail feathers which only become red once the bird reaches sexual maturity at about 2 years old. These majestic birds feed on a variety of species including bats, snakes, squirrels, rabbits, and mice. Although not as prolific of a predator of the wild turkey as the horned owl the RTH is known to prey on poults from time to time. Additionally, here is a video of a RTH attacking an adult turkey in Pennsylvania.
Just like the GHO the Red-tailed hawk is a federally protected species, so it is illegal to harm them in any way.
Bald Eagles
Probably the most famous bird in the world, the American Bald Eagle is a conservation success story. Right after WWII the wide use of a chemical known as DDT became responsible for the thinning of the eggshells of eagles and other species such as ospreys. The birds would sit on the eggs to incubate them, but they would crack and fail to hatch by 1963 only 487 nesting pairs of Bald Eagles were left. However, the use of DDT was banned in the U.S. in 1972 and thanks to the efforts of the US Fish and Wildlife Service and many other groups eagles now occupy every state except Hawaii.
The Bald Eagle is a bird of lakes and rivers and primarily feeds on fish, ducks, and funny looking waterbirds called coots. Bald eagles may also feed on other animals such as rabbits and squirrels and are definitely big enough to take down an adult wild turkey however they have not been listed as a common prey item in any of our research. Although they have been listed as a potential threat to domestic turkeys.
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