History/Background of the Wild turkey

 Wild turkeys have been a fixture in North American wildlife for a long time.  Fossils have been found that date these birds back as far as 40 million years.  Numerous Native American tribes have hunted wild turkey as far back as 4000 years ago.   The birds were eaten for nourishment, the feathers used for decoration and in rituals and the wing bones used as turkey calls.  Several tribes refused to hunt the wild turkey for fear that the bird’s perceived characteristics of stupidity and coward-ness would be acquired by those who consumed the bird.  The Native Americans shared
their knowledge of hunting wild turkey with the pilgrims when they landed in the New World. They used the wing-bone of the turkey to call the bird.   The turkey was even part of the first Thanksgiving of the pilgrims.  Hunting for the wild turkey continued over the years and almost led
to the extinction of the bird in the late 19^th century.  With the help or the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) using restocking programs, protection and the return of mature forests for the turkeys to inhabit, the wild turkey has made a marked comeback.  It is estimated that over
5.6 million wild turkeys now roam in the wild.  Turkey hunting has become one of the most popular types of hunting in the United States.  There are now close to 2.6 million sportsmen and women who call themselves turkey hunters. 

 WILD TURKEY SUBSPECIES

1. Eastern
2. Florida or Osceola
3. Merriam's
4. Rio Grand
5. Gould's
6. Occllated    For more information and photographs of wild turkey subspecies go to: www.nwtf.org

The average turkey has between 5000 to 6000 feathers covering its body.  The feathers are era descent and are typically red, green, copper, bronze and gold.  The male turkey’s feathers are very bright and colorful.  The female’s feathers are a drab brownish color.  The head and neck of the male turkey is completely featherless.  The hen turkey has feathers that run part way up the neck . The turkey uses its feathers for mating purposes, warmth and dryness.

 The eyesight of a turkey is much better than a human’s in daylight.   During night though they have very poor vision.  Turkeys have a large field of vision because they are able to rotate their necks 360°.  They have monocular and periscopic vision because their eyes are on the sides of the head.  This allows turkeys to determine a relative distance by turning its head slightly and viewing an object at different angles.  A turkey is
able to see color so while hunting you want to make sure you are properly camouflaged, to include your hands and face.  The hearing of a turkey is very acute and allows them to easily pinpoint the source of a call from  hundreds of yards away.  This also means they can hear other noises such as rustling noises created from moving around while setting up on a bird.  One sense you will not have to worry about with a turkey is their sense of smell.  With their poor sense of smell you will not have to let the wind direction affect your hunting.

Eastern Turkey

The eastern turkey is the most abundant, most widely distributed, and most hunted of all the subspecies.  It can grow to be the largest in size of the subspecies as well.   The adult male can  be up to four feet tall and weigh greater than 20 pounds.  The female can also grow to be up to four feet tall and weighs less than the male, usually between 8 and 12 pounds.  The habitat of the eastern turkey includes both open and forested areas.  The open areas are used by the turkeys for feeding and mating.  They use the forested areas as cover from predators and roost in trees at night.  Camp Lejeune is home to more than 300 Eastern wild turkey.  The eastern is the only species of wild turkey aboard Camp Lejeune. During the 2003 turkey
season 528 trips were made into the woods and 2,325 hours were spent hunting turkeys on Camp Lejeune.  A total of 10 toms were harvested.

Characteristics

Determining Male vs. Female

1. The male turkey has a large body and the colors of the head range from pale red to bright red and white.  The male turkey has no feathers on it’s neck  and has a large wattle on it’s neck.
2. The female turkey has a smaller body size with a blue head with feathers part way un the neck. REMEMBER male, red head. Female, blue head with feathers part way up the neck.

   There are several ways to determine a male from a female turkey.  One of the main ways is by the color of the bird.  The male will be more colorful than the female.  Another easy determination is the beard.  All male turkeys have beards which are a tuft of hair filament that protrudes from the chest.  A female turkey usually does not have a beard, but 10 to 20 percent do have one so be careful with this method of distinguishing the sexes.  The spur of the bird can also be used.  Both males and females are born with spurs, but only the male’s spur grows after birth.  It grows to become pointed and curved and is usually up to 2 inches in length.  The droppings of male and female turkeys are also different.   A tom’s droppings are usually two inches long and will be shaped like a “J”.  The hen’s scat will be a single, straight dropping in the shape of a pyramid.

    A male turkey that is less than one year of age is called a jake.  Jakes can be identified from their tail feathers.  When their tails are fanned out the middle 2 sets of primary feathers are 2 to 4 inches longer than the rest. 

    The age of a mature gobbler can be roughly determined from the beard.  The beard of a tom grows approximately 4 to 5 inches per year so the length of the beard can roughly determine the age.  Once the beard become 9 to 10 inches long, which would occur in a 2 year old tom, the tip starts to wear down.

    Scouting for turkeys is a very critical part of hunting turkey.  You should be scouting all year round.  About  three weeks before the hunting season opens you want to watch and learn the general whereabouts of the turkeys and mark this on a map.  Keep in mind that a turkey has different habitat locations in the winter and spring so a group of turkeys seen in the winter will probably not be in that same location.  Once the general whereabouts of a turkey are known you will want to start precision scouting.  This entails searching for signs that will help lead you to the turkey.  Remember: The better you know your hunting area the better your chance of harvesting a tom. You will want to look for the following:

a.  Roosts

This is the tree in which a turkey sleeps.  The turkeys usually pick fairly tall, open trees that have horizontal branches for them to perch on.  Often times they also choose trees that are close to or over water.  You should look for black and white wing and tail feathers on the ground at the bottom of the tree that have fallen out when flying up or coming down from roosting.  Look for droppings on the ground and surrounding area. First thing in the morning turkeys can be heard calling on their roosts.  At this same time you can also listen for the sounds of the turkey flying down from its roost.   Check suspected roost areas in the late morning where the chance of the turkeys being there is minimized.

b.  Scratching

These are the marks left by a turkey in their feeding grounds.  Usually, open fields, grassy areas or mast areas are were the turkey feeds.  A turkey’s scratching can be identified from other animals in that they pull leaves only to one side when trying to gather food from under the leaves.  A deer pulls the leaves haphazardly and a squirrel creates circular holes in the leaves. 

c.  Strut Zones

These are created by the male turkey during mating season when he is strutting to try and attract a hen.  Two parallel lines are drawn in the sand or mud about a foot apart and several feet long.  They are created from the tom dragging his wing tips along the ground.  They can be hard to find.  Look on old roads on in open fields for strut zones.  One common factor is they will usually use a high spot to be seen by the hens.   Whether it’s in a field with short grass, on an old logging road, or a high spot on a dirt path, the tom wants to be seen by the hens. 

d.  Tracks

The tom track can be distinguished from the hen in two ways.  First, the tom’s middle toe is larger than the rest.  Second, if the track is 4 ½ inches or larger it is probably a tom’s.  It’s a good idea to watch the tracks and try to pattern them. Check morning and evening and try to determine a direction of travel.  This will help to locate a roost site and let you know where your tom is heading if you miss him at fly down.

REMEMBER:   NEVER use any turkey calls before the season.   All you do is educate the turkey and if they see you calling, they will not come to that call when hunting.   If you must make sounds, use locater calls such as owl, crow, woodpecker and hawk. ( The use of turkey calls is prohibited on Camp Lejeune before the season opens).  NEVER: call from your vehicle.  These birds are in their element and know where every road is.    The best thing to do is;  Scout Scout Scout. Pattern the birds from winter to spring. After a couple seasons you will know where and what the birds are doing.  Sit early in the mornings and learn how the turkey communicates.  They may not always gobble but they talk each morning on the roost and after fly down to get together.  Most people do not know they are hearing a turkey when they hear soft yelps, clucks or purrs. Caution: The turkeys at Camp Lejeune are known for coming in silent and coming in from the opposite direction of the direction you call.  Always wait 20-30 minutes after you stop calling before you get up and move to another location.   The birds on Camp Lejeune are not in any hurry most of the time.  As a lot of hunters can tell you, about the time you stand up, you see the tom about 30 yards away looking at you or running the other way putting.  Remember be safe, always sit with your back to a tree as large as your back and be sure of your target before you shoot.  For more info on wild turkeys go to www.nwtf.org   GOOD LUCK !!!

Updated On: 06/16/08