The sun was already high in the sky when Bill and I saw our first Nebraska turkeys. They weren’t in the wooded ravines where I expected them; they were just off the highway that ran through the Sandhills Region of north central Nebraska. I had just commented on the lack of trees, except for those around the numerous abandoned and occasionally occupied farmhouses. Then I saw the two tom turkeys, strutting 20 yards from a highway department sand pile, 50 yards from a farmhouse, complete with a dog lying in the dust near the front porch and several cats. Because of the amount of white on their tail feathers and rump I thought they were domestic turkeys. But, when we passed a flock of fifteen turkeys walking across the prairies 15 miles down the road I realized I was seeing my first Merriam’s Turkeys.

I couldn’t understand what the birds were doing on the open prairie until a few days later, after I had been hunting. Because of the limited habitat available to the big birds in Nebraska, turkeys have learned to adapt to their environment. On the Great Plains the forested areas usually associated with turkeys and turkey habitat occur mainly along the major rivers and their tributaries. In general, the only areas with trees large enough for turkeys to roost in are along the rivers or near the widely scattered farmsteads and small towns. Several farms and towns in this area have their own resident flock of turkeys.

I’d chosen this area to hunt because a map provided to me by the National Wild Turkey Federation showed that one of the highest concentrations of Merriam’s, and Merriam’s/Eastern hybrid turkeys in North America occurs along the Niobrara River near the town of Valentine, Nebraska. This area is primarily wooded bluffs and river bottoms. West of Valentine you are likely to see more pine forest than hardwoods. The change doesn’t seem to bother the turkeys however, because we found birds in both types of forest. On top of the bluffs, away from the river, the surroundings change to the endless rolling plains of grass common to the Dakotas and Nebraska, which is more suited to sharp-tails, prairie chickens, long billed curlews and coyotes than to turkeys. Water is limited and trees are scarce on the prairies, which explains why the turkeys I saw earlier were near the farms.

Turkeys prefer to roost in trees where possible, and the groves around the farms may offer the only trees for miles around. The farm sites also offer feed in the form of grain for the cattle and insects associated with cattle droppings. The overflow from stock tanks and the stock ponds on the farms provide needed water for the birds. Since many of the local people don’t hunt, the turkeys move right in and become semi-tame. Many of the farmers and their wives look upon these birds as pets, and don’t allow hunting. Even if they did, trying to get within range of these “yard bird ” turkeys on the open prairie is next to impossible. There is just no place to set up. Hunting their “country cousins” along the river bottoms, however, is much like hunting turkeys anywhere else. After obtaining permission to hunt on a 12,000 acre ranch we began scouting along the tops of the bluffs adjacent to the river, where we could four wheel drive from one ravine to the next along five miles of the river.

In open country I prefer to locate birds by calling from the top of a ridge that falls into a ravine or valley on one or more sides, so I can hear any answering calls from as many directions as possible. I use a crow call or owl hooter to try to get the birds to “shock gobble’ in response to my calling. If I don’t get an answer I wait five to ten minutes and try again. If I still don’t get an answer I drive to the next ridge and continue until I get a bird to answer. When I use turkey calls in wide open country I use a high pitched mouth diaphragm, or one of the new aluminum striker calls, because the high pitched sounds of these calls carry farther than other calls. Recent turkey research shows that the calls of Merriam’s, Rio Grande and Gould turkeys are higher pitched than the calls of their eastern counterparts. When I am calling I like to sound as much like the local birds as possible, and can do this with the new aluminum calls.

When you hear a bird in this country you have to realize that sound carries a long way. I have had birds respond, and heard them, from as far away as a mile and a half. You also have to realize that calls echo off the bare canyon walls in this country; one lone tom may sound like a whole flock. On more than one occasion I have gone to look for a flock of toms I though was in the next ravine, only to find out that it was one bird, and it was two or more ravines away. When you put birds to bed at night be sure you know the exact location of the bird before you leave, or you may start hunting the next morning only to find yourself in the wrong ravine.

Hunting this wide-open country presents some problems that eastern hunters may not be prepared for. Spring weather on the prairie may change from blizzard conditions with temperatures in the 30’s one day, to clear skies with temperatures reaching the upper 80’s the next. You should take along both heavy and light camouflage clothing, and rain gear. A good pair of comfortable, lightweight waterproof boots are a must when you walk miles across the prairie and cross low lying boggy areas and streams to get the birds. Because of the distances traveled on foot I also take along a combination backpack and folding seat to sit on.

After getting a response from a nearby tom on the second morning of the hunt Bill and I decided to set up a flock of Feather Flex turkey decoys and try to call the bird in. I took the three decoys out of my backpack and set them up in a small clearing in the pines. After choosing a couple of trees for back rests I set up the hens on a small rise slightly to the left of where I expected the tom to come from. Then I placed the jake within shooting distance, where it could be easily seen by an approaching tom. I like to place the decoys off to one side of my shooting position, so that when a bird comes in it is attracted to the sight of decoys, which keep the bird from looking in my direction. I place the jake decoy in a clear shooting lane, because I’ve found that a tom will often attack a jake before it will go to the hens; when the tom approaches or attacks the decoy I have a clear shot.

After the decoys were setup Bill and I positioned ourselves so that we could each watch a different approach to the setup. Then I yelped a couple of times on my Haydel’s mouth diaphragm. A few minutes later Bill whispered that he could see two toms strutting below us on the next ridge. I called a couple of more times and heard the birds gobble back, but they were unwilling to come any closer. We waited a half-hour while the turkeys continued to gobble, but they didn’t come any closer. Finally we decided to move to the top of the next ridge, closer to the turkeys. When we got there I set up the decoys again and called. Almost immediately there was a thunderous gobble with an echo, and then another thunderous gobble; I was sure at least one of the birds was coming in.

After twenty minutes of calling the bird hung up just below the rim of the ridge. I knew the bird was close by the sound of its call but I couldn’t see it. In an effort to bring the bird in I started a series of fast clucks, simulating the “cutt” of a turkey. The cutt is the sound of one bird telling another that if the two are going to get together, the other bird will have to do the walking. Almost immediately a double gobble echoed up from the valley below us. I waited a while then let loose with another cutt; cluck…cluck…cluck …cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck…cluck…cluck cluck. There was another double gobble from about twenty yards away.

With the sheer drop of the ridge and the echoing I couldn’t pinpoint the tom, but I knew it was close. As I looked over at Bill I could see the excitement in his eyes. I motioned for him to get ready. I clucked softly; cluck. Then I moved my head slowly to search for the bird. I saw a bright red and glowing white head appear over the lip of the rim off to my right. I looked at Bill, to see if had spotted the tom. He raised his eyebrows as if to say, “Where is it?” When I looked at the bird there were not one, but two heads peering over the rim. The double gobble I heard had come from two birds. They were about ten yards away, and I was sure that Bill could see them. I looked at him again, but he still hadn’t seen the birds.

I had two turkey tags and was thinking that this would be a great time to fill one of them. But, Bill had never hunted turkeys before, and I wanted him to get the first shot. Although we were both well camouflaged, I was afraid that at this range the birds would spot us. They were staring right at me, and I heard one of the toms putt; putt…putt…putt. Not really an Alarm Putt, more like the bird was nervous. The bird’s necks crossed as they tried to locate me, and I clucked softly to settle them down. Bill’s bow was still down and I motioned to him with my hand to get ready. If the birds saw us there wouldn’t be much time to draw and shoot. He shrugged his shoulders slightly. He still didn’t see the birds. I was glad that I had stopped using my striker call earlier and had begun using my mouth diaphragm; using the mouth diaphragm reduced the chance of the birds spotting my hand moving and left both hands free to hold my bow.

One of the birds putted again and I clucked in response. The sound was so loud I half expected to see Bill’s hat blow off. Fortunately he saw the bird and had the presence of mind to let an arrow fly. When I got up to see where Bill’s bird was I heard him say, “Well I rolled that one.” I said “You sure did.” as I watched the bird roll down the ridge. Then I heard Bill say, “He’s going to go all the way to the bottom.” And that’s exactly what happened. I watched in amusement as Bill tried to catch up with the bird as it cartwheeled, wings flopping wildly, 150 yards down the steep embankment. It finally hung up in a yucca plant, 20 yards from the bottom.

A couple of days later Bill and I spotted a flock of fifteen turkeys near an abandoned farm. Through a break in the trees we could see three toms strutting in the grove behind the old house. I knew there was no way to call the birds in because they were already with a dozen hens. As we watched, the birds began to walk toward the far end of the grove, and I noticed a small brush choked ravine that began near the grove. I told Bill that we should work our way done the ravine to the far end of the grove, to try to intercept the birds when they came by and he agreed.

We quickly worked our way through the brush and up the ravine toward the grove. No sooner had we gotten into position than the first hen walked by at about fifteen yards. Behind her the flock slowly fed and walked it’s way toward us, with the toms taking up the rear. It wasn’t long before the hens walked out on to the prairie. I told Bill to wait until the toms were within range, then pick out the largest tom. Before I knew it the toms came out of the grove, and I just had time to draw and release. At my shot the tom fell down, and the rest of the flock scattered across the prairie.

When we got back to Valentine we registered our birds and weighed them. Bill’s tom weighed 22 pounds and had a 9 ½; inch beard. My bird weighed just under 21 pounds and sported a 10 ½; inch bird and long spurs. He now sits in my living room, in a full strut pose, a reminder of hunting Nebraska’s prairie longbeards.

Note: Some of Nebraska’s best turkey hunting occurs along the rivers, where the land is privately owned. There are also a number of Wildlife Management Areas in the Sandhills Region with turkeys, deer and ducks on them. Anyone planning a hunt in the Sandhills should allow a couple of days for scouting and getting permission to hunt on one of the ranches. We found the landowners cooperative as long as we were respectful of their property, didn’t bother the cattle during calving time, and remembered to close all the gates.

Nebraska holds both spring and fall turkey hunts. In the Sandhills hunters are allowed two toms in the spring, and two birds of either sex in the fall.Nebraska also has excellent whitetail and mule deer hunting. There are 130 to 170 class whitetails taken often enough to make me go back. For bird hunters the Sandhills offer sharp-tailed grouse, prairie chickens and pheasants, and a number of species of ducks on the potholes that abound in the area.

Family: Phasianidae
Genus: Meleagris
Species: gallopavo

There were originally six subspecies of the Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) in North America and one related species, the Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata) in Central America. The originally discovered subspecies (M. gallopavo gallopavo) is now extinct due to hunting. Of the other five subspecies only the Gould’s Turkey is in danger. It occurs in extreme southwest New Mexico, southeast Arizona and adjacent regions of Mexico. This subspecies is listed on the endangered species list and hunting is limited/prohibited in the United States.

Subspecies Distribution

The Eastern Turkey (M. g. silvestris) is the most widely distributed subspecies and occurs east of the Missouri river to the eastern shore of the United states, in parts of Minnesota, the eastern third of Kansas and Oklahoma, eastern Texas and northern Florida. The Florida subspecies (M. g. osceola) occurs in the southern portion of Florida. The Rio Grande (M. g. intermedia) occurs mainly in the western portions of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, with transplants in small portions of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and South Dakota. The Merriam’s (M. g. merriami) occurs in South Dakota, and portions of most of the mountain states from Canada to Mexico. Hybrid or interbred turkeys are found in areas where two or more subspecies occur; these birds may exhibit characteristics of one or the other subspecies, both subspecies or in between.

Habitat

Generally speaking, the Eastern turkey is found in open, mixed hardwood and pine forests, the Osceola is found in the subtropical regions of Florida, the Rio Grande in scattered brush land of the southwest, and the Merriam’s and Gould’s in pine forests of the southwest. Turkeys prefer to roost in trees larger than the surrounding vegetation and will often choose roost sites on east facing slopes out of the prevailing winds. Because sight is a main means of defense against predators for turkeys, they use open fields and meadows as feeding and strutting sites, and wooded areas roosting sites. Strutting sites are often traditional, used year after year by successive birds.

Forage

Turkeys eat a wide range of foods including succulent grasses and forbes, insects, leftover grains, fruits of the grape, cherry and black gum, seeds including mast crops of acorns, pine nuts and juniper (cedar) berries, and new growth agricultural crops. In the winter turkeys rely heavily on acorns and seeds; branch tips of brush and trees; leftover grain crops; and will feed heavily in fields where manure has been spread; at corn cribs and feedlots; and at silage piles. In the early spring turkeys often rely on leftover grain in agricultural fields. Once the weather warms and new green growth appears they will begin feeding in pastures, river and creek bottoms, and hayfields, where they eat green forage and search for insects. Hens often seek out sources of calcium (such as land snails) for egg production in the spring.

Roosts

The availability and location of roosting sites is a determining factor in turkey use of the habitat. If few or no roosting sites are available turkeys may leave the area or not use it. They prefer to roost in heavy timber in ravines if possible; where they can be out of strong prevailing winds in winter, but they will roost in trees open to the wind. Roost sites are often located over or near water in the south.

Scientific studies have shown that turkeys often roost on an east or south facing slope, about a third of the way down the slope where the winds are calm. East and south facing slopes also receive the earliest sunlight, allowing the birds to warm-up and be able to see early in the morning. In one study roost sites were often within one half mile of water, and five hundred yards of a meadow. This could be attributed to the fact that turkeys often feed before going to roost in the evening, and they don’t travel far at dusk. The preferred roosts in the study were mature trees with open crowns giving the turkeys room to fly into the trees and move around. They also preferred trees with large horizontal limbs to roost on.

In western areas turkeys use fir, pine, spruce, cottonwood and large aspen trees as roosts. Eastern birds often choose pines, elm, maple, box elder, large oak, and cottonwood. Mature toms often choose pines because the pines can reduce wind speeds by 50-70 percent. Eastern turkeys generally have several roost sites in their home range, and they may use different sites on successive nights. In limited and poor habitat, Merriam’s turkeys often roost in the same trees on a regular basis.

Vision

Vision scientist, Dr. Jay Neitz believes that birds see in trichromatic color like humans, and that many birds actually see four colors. He also believes that some birds see ultraviolet light as a different color than any of the three primary colors of red, yellow and blue seen by humans. Birds detect ultraviolet light in low light conditions that humans can’t, especially birds that are night predators.

Because turkeys are a prey species their eyes are located on the sides of their heads, giving them a wide field of vision. But, because of their wide spaced eyes, turkeys sacrifice depth perception; they see very little in front of them with both eyes at the same time. As turkeys walk, their heads move back and forth, giving them two different angles of an object, which helps them determine the distance of the object. Because of their poor depth perception, turkeys have difficulty determining the relative size of objects.

Hearing

Birds ears are also located on the sides of their heads, and because they have no outer ear with a cup to enhance the sound in one direction, they hear sounds all the way around them. Sound received by one ear but not by the other ear helps the birds determine which direction the sounds come from, but not the distance of the sound. Loud sounds generally come from closer range than quieter sounds, and cause turkeys to become alert.

This makes it clear why prey species with widely spaced eyes and ears give an alarm signal first, often try to verify the danger with both their eyes and ears, and then flee. If they don’t know which direction the danger came from they need to verify the danger, and direction, before fleeing; or they may actually flee into, rather than away from danger.

Smell

Mammalian prey species (deer, elk, sheep, etc.) that have a highly developed sense of smell can determine the direction of danger by scent and wind direction. They generally flee down or crosswind, knowing they are fleeing away from danger, not toward it. Because birds have a poor sense of smell they need to rely heavily on both their eyes and ears to determine the direction of danger before they flee from it.

Sign

Turkeys leave a variety of signs as indication of their presence, and their tracks are usually the most evident sign. Adult turkey tracks range from 2-3 inches in length, hens up to 2 1/8 inches and toms 2 ¼ inches and longer. Mature toms leave a wider and deeper middle toe imprint, often with the scales of the toes showing. Turkey droppings can be found under roosts, in feeding areas and along travel routes. Hen droppings are pencil size or larger, and bulbous or spiral in shape; tom droppings are straight or “J” shaped. Piles of droppings under large trees indicate roost sites. Dropped feathers, wing scrapes in strutting areas and the shallow depressions of dusting bowls are all evidence of turkeys use. V shaped scratches in dirt or leaf-litter is evidence of feeding turkeys.

The 1, 2, 3 Rule

Tom turkeys can’t walk or strut and gobble at the same time. They generally stop walking or strutting, then stick their neck out and gobble. The number of times a tom gobbles can give you clues as to what the tom is doing, and where it is.

If a tom gobbles 0 times per 1 minute, and it is at a strut, there is probably a hen present. You can: 1. sneak up on the bird, 2. figure out where the bird will go after it leaves and get there before it does, 3. wait until the hen leaves, hope the tom stays, and then try call it in.

If a tom gobbles 1 time per 1 minute, and it’s before sunrise, it is probably on the roost. You should set up: 1. at a nearby strut the tom uses, 2. between the tom and any nearby hens, 3. between the tom and the nearest strut.

If a tom gobbles 1 time per 2-3 minutes, and it is before sunrise, the tom is probably on the ground and moving. There are several things you can do: 1. if the tom is moving toward you call just enough to keep it coming. 2. if the tom is moving away from you try to get it to change it’s mind, but it is probably headed toward a hen, group of hens or a strut; 3. figure out where the tom is going and get there before it does.

If a tom gobbles 2-3 times per 1 minute, and it is at a strut, there is probably no hen present. You can: 1. try to get it to leave the strut, which it is probably reluctant to do, 2. try to sneak up on it, 3. figure out where it will go after it leaves and get there before it does, 4. wait until another day and get to the same area before the tom.

I cannot say that this formula is applicable in all areas, or with all subspecies of turkeys. But, if you watch and listen to the birds in your area you should see some pattern that will help you determine where the toms are and what they are doing.

Midmorning Tactics

The most widely used hunting technique for spring turkeys is to locate a tom on the roost before sunrise, setup nearby, and use decoys or calls to get the tom to come into range. But, what do you do if you don’t get a tom within a couple hours of sunrise? You adapt, and keep trying. Although gobbling activity drops off after daylight, toms that are not with hens may continue to gobble throughout the morning, and they may answer your calls. If you don’t get a tom in the early morning, you can slowly work your way through the woods, or near feeding and loafing areas, calling intermittently as you go. When you hear a tom get as close as you can without spooking it before you set up to call. I like to set up in a small opening if I can, where I may have seen birds before. Then I put out my decoys and start calling.

When you are calling midmorning toms you can use the same calling routine as you do when you call a bird off the roost, except that if the tom is any distance away you may have to call louder, and use the Cutt more often. Try to imitate a lonely hen looking for a flock, or a tom. If the tom is not with a hen he usually becomes interested and starts to come in. Once the tom responds it’s back to playing the game, trying to figure out which calls to use, how loud to call, and how often to call, to keep the tom interested and coming.

If the tom hangs up you can pick up and start to move on him; a combination of stalking and calling, trying to keep track of his location without getting too close and spooking him. This makes the tom think the hen is really interested, because it sounds like she is moving toward him while he is waiting or coming toward her. The key to this tactic is not to let the tom see you before you see him. You should be set up and waiting before the tom appears. This tactic can backfire if you can’t keep track of the tom, and it comes in silent, when you aren’t ready, or you get too close. You have to move slowly at all times, stay under cover, move silently and stay alert and ready to shoot. If you’re ready when the toms comes in you may be able to ambush him when he comes toward you, or you may get a shot as he sneaks off into the woods. The ideal situation is to move in, set up, and call the bird to you.

Ambush

Toms often feed and gobble in open areas late in the morning, after the hens have gone to their nests. If you have done your fieldwork in observing and patterning the birds, you may know where these late morning feeding/strutting sites are. These late morning feeding/strutting sites are a good spots for permanent blinds, especially for archery hunters. You can take along a book and a lunch, call every few minutes, and wait for the birds to appear.

I set up a flock of decoys, as many as six including a jake, and make a day of it. If you are in a “high use” area you can use the calls and decoys to attract the tom into shooting position. This is the same technique used by many deer hunters who sit long hours on a deer stand. You have to be patient and have perseverance. The key is to be in a spot the toms use regularly.

Hunting Flocked-Up Turkeys

Turkeys may be in large mixed flocks when food sources are scarce, and when the birds are still on the wintering grounds; or after they migrate, but before they breakup. Turkeys are hard to hunt in large flocks. It’s hard to get them in close, because there are so many eyes and ears watching and listening for danger; it’s even harder to get ready for a shot. It’s also hard to call the toms in, because what they are looking for they already have; hens.

I use two main tactics in this situation. No matter when I hunt I try to pattern the birds, so I know where the roosting and feeding areas are, and the routes they use between those areas. Then I try to get between the roost and the food source, to call, decoy or ambush the birds when they come by. If that doesn’t work you can scatter the birds like you would in the fall, then set up a few decoys and call the toms back by using Assembly Yelps or Lost Yelps to imitate a hen trying to gather her year old female offspring. If the birds begin calling by themselves, try to get between them, and let them do the calling for you.

Hunting Henned-Up Toms

During the breeding phase the toms may follow the hens throughout the day, rather than spend the day on the strut. This is especially true if the hens leave the feeding/strutting areas in groups, rather than by themselves. If the toms are still with the hens in the late afternoon/early evening, there’s a good chance they’ll roost near the hens. This usually results in less pre-dawn gobbling, because the toms know where the hens are. It also results in the toms getting together with the hens shortly after they fly down. This makes the toms difficult to call, because they’ve already found what they’re looking for.

If the toms have roosted far enough away from the hens you may be able to get between them, and call the toms in as they go to the hens. If the toms have roosted close to the hens, and you have previously patterned the birds, or think you know where they will go to feed when they fly down, you can setup between the roost and the feeding area. You can also use a dominant hen call to try to get the hens to come to you and bring the toms with them. Or you can use a Fighting Purr to bring in the whole flock.

One of my favorite techniques is to scatter the birds off the roost after they have flown up in the evening. Then I go back the next morning and wait until the toms start gobbling (so I know where they are). If the toms don’t gobble by themselves I try to get them to shock gobble. Then I setup nearby, put out a couple of decoys, and use a Flydown Cackle, a few soft Yelps, some Cutts, and try to get the toms to come in.

As with all other hunting, the best strategy in turkey hunting is to be in the right place at the right time. The number one key to successful hunting is “location, location, location.” Locating game animals consists of two primary techniques, scouting and observing. The more time and effort you spend scouting and observing the animals, and recording what you have learned, the less time you will have to be spend patterning and hunting the animals. Once you know where the animals are through scouting; and know the sex, size, and time to expect them in certain areas (based on observing and recording in a journal and marking on a map), it’s a matter of determining the right spot to hunt at the right time.

Scouting

When you are scouting for turkeys you should learn the lay of the land. You want to know where the ravines, gullies, streams and fences are; obstacles that a turkey may detour around or may not cross. You also want to know the topography of the land; the elevation of hills and valleys, so you know if the birds are above or below you when you hear them. When you are calling turkeys try to be above the birds; turkeys prefer to come uphill to a call rather than down.

You want to know where the food sources are, and what time of the year they are used. You should also look for the roosting areas, watering sites, breeding areas and travel routes of the birds. If you know where the openings and feeding areas are, you will be able to choose the best places to set up, and you will be able to estimate how long it will take a bird to come to your call.

You should know the land as thoroughly as the animals do, so you know where to find them under the current conditions and time of year. If you know the land, you will know where the birds are when you hear them, even if you can’t see them. If you see them you will know the route either you or the birds will probably travel, and approximately how long it will take for you or them to get to specific areas. But, you won’t know the number of birds, their size and sex, interesting characteristics, or when they use specific areas unless you observe them.

Observing

One of the best ways to understand an animal is to observe it under natural conditions. Observing is watching, undetected, to learn more about the animals and have a better understanding of them. Observing is not accidentally running into or spooking animals. The only way to know the numbers, size, sex, characteristics, and the time to expect the animals in particular locations is by spending some time and effort observing them. Scouting is learning the land and finding areas used frequently by the animals.

An observation site should be a high point with a good view of much of the land, far enough away that you will not disturb the animals during their normal routine. A tree stand at the edge of field, or a hill, is a good site. By choosing the right spot to watch from you are able to see how the animals react to weather, light, hunting pressure, and other predators. You may also have a chance to hear the animals calling and see the body posture and movement associated with the call.

Recording

While you are scouting and observing you should also put your findings in a journal. Mark the places where you see the animals on a map, and mark the trails, resting, feeding, breeding and watering areas The more information you keep in a journal, and the more information you have on your map, the easier it will be to understand the animals and pattern them. Keep notes on date, day, time, sky conditions (amount of light), wind direction and speed, temperature, dewpoint, wind-chill, precipitation, breeding phase, food availability, number of animals, sex, direction of travel, activity, size and any other factors that might help you better understand the animals.

Patterning

While observing the animals you may be able to determine regular travel routes and times they use, which will help you pattern the animals and make it easier to choose the right time and place to hunt them. Patterning cannot be done in a few hours, it may take days or even weeks. The more time and effort you spend observing the animals, the clearer the pattern will become, and the more you will learn and understand the animals.

High Use Areas

To locate turkeys it is helpful to have a good topographical map of the area, or a good aerial photo. These visual aids will help determine where the “high use areas” of security cover, roosting sites, water, food, strutting, and travel areas are before you are even on the property. Then it’s time to get on the property and scout for sign left by turkeys. Two prime areas you want to locate are the food sources, which often serve as strutting areas, and the roosting sites. These are the areas where turkeys spend a majority of their time and leave the most sign. They are also the areas where turkeys are the most predictable, where you have the best chance of ambushing or getting them to come to you. Find these areas and you will find the birds.

Don’t Scout Too Early

The dates of the turkey season where you plan to hunt, and the dates you actually plan to hunt, dictate why and when you scout. If your reason for scouting is to learn more about turkeys (to understand them), or more about the numbers, sex and physical characteristics of the birds (their size, beard length/number, body color), you can scout anytime of the year. But, if your reason for scouting is to pattern the birds in preparation for a hunt, you should plan on a final scouting session not more than a week before the hunt.

The reason I say this is because turkeys often migrate from winter to spring home ranges, and this migration may occur just before or during your hunt. If you scout too far in advance of your hunt, and locate the birds on their winter range, and then hunt after they have moved to their spring home range, you may find fewer birds in the area than you expected, or no birds at all.

When there is a late spring I’ve watched turkeys migrate as late as the last week of April in southern Minnesota. I’ve also watched turkeys leave their wintering area, and then return to their wintering grounds a couple of days later if conditions weren’t right on their spring home ranges. If the birds aren’t where you expect to find them during your hunt when you hunt, the best thing to do is spend the first few days of the hunt scouting to find out where they went.

I’d been hearing a group of turkeys gobbling since a half-hour before daylight. They first responded to my soft tree yelps by gobbling from the trees where they were roosted, and within fifteen minutes I heard them fly down. Once they were on the ground the toms began to gobble again. To try to get the toms to come in my direction I used a Wing Thing flapper call, to simulate the sound of a turkey flying down. Then I blew a Flydown Cackle on my Haydel’s mouth diaphragm. That’s when the fun began, I’d perform the Yelp of a hen turkey and the birds would respond. I’d wait a few minutes, and then I’d yelp again.

At first it seemed like the birds were coming closer, but after an hour of calling I wasn’t so sure. I finally decided to take a chance, and blew a loud series of insistent Cutts. There was an almost immediate response as a tom gobbled back. Minutes later there was another thunderous call, but it didn’t seem any closer. I called to the tom for another fifteen minutes, but it wouldn’t come in. In desperation I tried one more tactic; I began to putt and purr softly, and then I began to rustle the leaves on the ground beside me, like a turkey scratching for food. Five minutes later a big tom came around the corner of the woods, spotted my decoys, and went into a strut.

Hunters sometimes forget that communication among animals is not just sound, it is a combination of sounds, body posture, movement, and in mammals, scent. The difference in the meaning between two calls that sound alike is often the body posture or movement of the animal making the call. When you are calling turkeys you need to understand the meaning of the call, and when it is used. And, unless you are using decoys, it’s difficult for you to recreate the body posture or movement associated with the call you are making.

Movement Sounds

There are sounds other than calling associated with all animals. The movement of the animal alone creates a sound that is associated by other animals as coming from a particular species or sex of animal. Turkeys have a way of walking and feeding that produces a particular sound, walking deer have a different tempo and volume. Along with the calls they make, turkeys make a lot of scratching noises when they feed. If a turkey hears soft putts, purrs and whines along with the sound of soft steps and scratching in the leaves, it thinks a flock of birds is feeding.

When turkeys fly down from the roost they often perform the Flying Cackle, and they also produce a flapping sound with each beat of their wings. A turkey hearing the combination of both wing beats and Cackle thinks another bird has flown down from its roost. A turkey hearing a Fighting Purr expects to hear the other sounds associated with a fight, like the flapping of wings as the birds jump into the air and try to peck or kick and spur each other.

When a turkey struts, it often performs the Spit and Drum. The sounds of these two actions have been described as a chump and a hum, which are probably more fitting names for these sounds. The sound of a turkey’s wings dragging on the ground can also be heard at close range when a tom struts.

As you can see it’s not just the call, but the other sounds, and the action or posture of the body, in combination with the call, that relay the meaning of the call to other turkeys. You cannot recreate most of these movements and body postures while hunting, but if you know when and why they occur you can produce the calls and sounds at the proper time.

Turkey Calls

An understanding of the different calls that turkeys use helps when you are trying to call turkeys. Turkey researchers have described as many as 20 different turkey calls. They fall into six basic categories: Agonistic/Aggressive, Alarm, Contact, Flying, Maternal/Neonatal and Mating.

Agonistic Calls

Turkeys make a number of soft Putts, Purrs, and Whines while feeding. These calls are referred to as agonistic (as in agonizing, not antagonistic) because they help keep the flock in contact, while keeping them apart when their heads are down and they can’t see each other. The birds are uncomfortable when they get too close to each other; thus they are in agony, so to speak. When they make these calls they are saying, “This is my space, don’t get too close.” The Feeding Whine or Purr sounds like the call made by a feeding chicken, a soft errr. It may be followed by one or more Feeding Putts; a soft contented putt, putt. I use these calls shortly after I use a Flydown Cackle, to convince a tom that there are hens on the ground and feeding. I also use it on toms that hang up out of range, to calm them down.

The Aggressive or Fighting Purr is louder and more insistent than the Feeding Purr. It is used when one bird gets to close to another, often by a dominant tom that wants to displace a lesser bird. If the subdominant does not move the dominant may peck at it or jump up and slap it with a wing, toms may try to injure the other bird by using their spurs. This call is often interrupted by flapping wings, kicking and neck wrestling.

The sound of birds fighting will cause dominants and groups of toms, even hens, to come running, so they can see which birds are fighting in their area. The loser of a fight often drops down in the social hierarchy, leaving room for the birds beneath it to move up. Any bird that has a chance to move up in the hierarchy will do so. I use this call to bring in dominant toms when everything else fails.

Alarm Call

When a turkey becomes aware of danger it makes a loud, sharp Alarm Putt of from one to five notes; TUT, TUT, TUT, that is used to warn other birds of danger. The call is a signal that a bird has seen a potential predator, and is usually followed by the bird running or flying away. Do not use this call when hunting turkeys.

Social Contact and Maternal/Neonatal Calls

Because the Social Contact Calls are used most often between the hen and her poults they are basically the same as the Maternal/Neonatal Calls. When turkeys use these calls they are saying. “Here I am, where are You?” The contact calls of young turkeys are the Lost Whistle, Kee-Kee and the Kee-Kee Run. These are all high-pitched calls that change to a lower pitch as the turkey grows.

The Lost Whistle is the sound very young birds make when they are separated from the hen. As summer advances the voices of the poults change, and the Lost Whistle becomes the Kee-Kee, a lower-pitched, coarser kee-kee-kee. As Fall approaches the young turkeys begin to add yelps at the end of the Kee-Kee to produce the Kee-Kee Run. The young turkeys use these calls when they are trying to locate their mother and the other young birds.

The Lost Whistle is a high-pitched whistle, peep-peep-peep-peep. The Kee Kee usually has three notes strung together, kee-kee-kee. Many callers fail to recreate this call correctly by using only two notes, or by using up to five notes. Maybe the name of the call should be changed to the Kee-Kee-Kee. The Kee-Kee Run is the basic Kee-Kee followed by several yelps, kee-kee-kee, chirp-chirp-chirp-chirp. I use these calls in the fall, after I have scattered a flock.

Adult turkeys use many different Yelps and Clucks to keep in contact in different situations. Most turkey Yelps are the same as the “Here I am, where are you?” call of geese and other flocking birds, which is used to keep the birds in contact with each other.

The Tree Yelp is often the first sound of the day, a soft, nasal, three to five note call, which is performed while the birds are on the roost before daylight. It is a soft chirp-chirp-chirp … chirp-chirp-chirp-chirp, or a variation. There are usually three to four notes per second, with each note lasting about .08 seconds. This call is one bird telling the others it is awake/asking if there are other birds that are nearby and awake. This is the first turkey call I use in the morning, to see if there are toms in the area and still on the roost.

The Plain Yelp is performed when the turkeys are within seeing distance of each other. It often consists of three to nine notes, all on the same pitch and of the same volume, with three to four notes per second, and each note lasting .08 to .10 seconds; chirp-chirp-chirp, but louder than the Tree Yelp. I use this call when toms are up close, or when they can see the decoys.

The Lost Yelp is much like the Plain Yelp but may contain 20 or more notes, and becomes louder toward the end. The bird’s voice may “break” during the call, which causes it to have a raspy sound. There may be from three to four notes per second, with each note lasting .10 to .15 seconds.

The Assembly Yelp is used in the Fall by a hen turkey to get the young birds to regroup. It usually consists six to ten or more evenly spaced yelps, that are loud and sharp, with two to four notes per second, and each note lasting from .12 to .20 seconds. I often hear hens make a loud, long series of Yelps while they are on the strut during the breeding phase. I am not sure if this is an Assembly Yelp or a Lost Yelp. But, I do know that toms often show up in areas where hens are making this call. I use Lost Yelps and Assembly Yelps to get a tom fired up on the roost, and to keep it coming in.

The Plain Cluck is used by a turkey to get the visual attention of another bird; it is primarily a close range contact call, again saying “Here am I, where are you?” A bird making this call wants to hear another bird make the same call, so they can get together. It is a sharp short sound, similar to the alarm putt but not as loud or as insistent, tut … tut. The notes of the cluck are often separated by as much as three seconds, which distinguishes it from the faster, closely spaced Fast Cutt. I often hear hens use several soft Clucks and Purrs while they are feeding. It sounds like putt, putt, putt, errr, putt … putt, putt, putt, errr. I use these calls when a tom hangs up, or to stop it for a shot.

The Fast Cutt, or Cutting, is one turkey using the “Here I am, where are you?” but telling the other bird “If we are going to get together you have to come to me.” It is a loud insistent call, and the notes are strung together in bursts of two’s and three’s, with about a second between bursts. It sounds like TUT-TUT … TUT-TUT-TUT … TUT- TUT-TUT-TUT … TUT-TUT- TUT … TUT- TUT or any variation of clucks. The rhythm is somewhat like the Flying Cackle, and I have used both calls to get a tom to “shock gobble.” I also use Fast Cutt to bring in a tom that hangs up.

Flying Call

The Flying Cackle is the sound a turkey makes when it is flying up or down from the roost, or when it is flying across ravines. Many hunters have difficulty with the correct tempo of this call. Actually, it’s quite easy. The call of a bird in the air is directly related to the downbeat of the wing stroke, it’s when the bird contracts its chest muscles and exhales, and it’s the only time that the bird can call. If you are trying to imitate this call visualize the action of the turkey as it takes off, first with slow, powerful wing beats, then faster, and tapering off slowly before gliding and landing. I often use this call to get a “shock gobble” from a tom before daylight, so I can locate the tree the tom is in. I also use it to get a tom to come off the roost in my direction.

Mating Calls

The Gobble is the sound a tom turkey makes to express dominance and a willingness to breed. It sounds like a loud rattling, gobble-obble-obble-obble. The Gobble is most often performed in the spring during the breeding season. Toms usually begin gobbling from the roost from 30 to 45 minutes before sunrise, and gobbling usually continues until about 45 minutes after sunrise, but it may continue intermittently throughout the day. Toms perform most of the gobbling, and dominant toms usually gobble more than subdominants. Gobbling by dominant toms is thought to suppress gobbling by subdominant and younger males, therefore jakes gobble less than toms.

Toms use the Spit and the Drum while they are strutting. After watching toms snap their wings open on gravel, and hearing the sound the sound of the wings hitting the ground, I believe that at least some of the sounds referred to as the Spit by hunters are the sounds of the wing tips snapping open or hitting the ground. But, there is also another sound referred to as a Spit.

Until I discovered that turkeys might have air sacks in their chests in the spring of 2000, most turkey researchers and hunters did not know how the Spit and the Drum were performed. I had asked several turkey biologists, including Dr. James Earl Kennemer of the Nation Wild Turkey Federation, and turkey researcher Dr. Lovett Williams, Jr., how these sounds were made, but neither man was sure. However, they both thought the Spit and Drum were vocalizations.

I was able to hear both these sounds at less than a foot while watching a couple of domestic turkeys. As I watched the toms I could hear them inhaling and exhaling deeply. Then one of the birds opened its beak and expelled air in a loud “phit” sound. Almost immediately I heard a low humming sound and noticed that the bird’s body, and particularly its tail, vibrated. It appears that the Spit may be a loud exhale, and that the Drum may be the result of air movement from air sacks in the bird’s chest, similar to the booming of a prairie chicken or sharp-tailed grouse.

When the tom first went into a strut it was too far out for a shot. So, I purred softly on my Haydel’s double reed mouth diaphragm. The tom stopped strutting and craned its neck, looking for the hen it couldn’t see. When it walked closer, and began to strut again I touched my release. I smiled, knowing there would be deep fried turkey breast and wild rice for supper tonight.

Turkeys go through several different phases during the breeding season and these phases usually signal increases and decreases in gobbling activity. The dates given are for turkeys in the northern states.

Phase 1: Flock Re-integration Gobbling Peak (early to late March)

As the days become warmer, and the urge to mate comes over the turkeys, the jakes may join the toms to form groups as they search for hens. In areas where food sources are limited the toms and jakes may travel with the hens throughout the day, and roost with them at night. As a result of the toms being in contact with the hens there may be an early gobbling peak that is not often talked about. The dominant adult males usually do most of the gobbling at this time, and as the days grow longer more males begin to gobble. In the south gobbling may begin in early February, in the north it may begin as early as the first week of March. This phase may not occur in all areas.

Phase 2: Post Flock Re-integration Gobbling Lull (late March)

During the three years of my research I found that gobbling activity usually decreased within a week of the toms and hens getting together. Although this lack of gobbling may be a result of the toms being near the hens, and thus not needing to gobble, I suspect that low temperature and wet conditions contributed to decreased gobbling. This is when birds in some areas begin to leave their wintering areas, and when large tom flocks may break up into smaller groups, which results in less gobbling activity.

Phase 3: Pre-Primary Breeding Period Gobbling Peak (early to mid April)

As the days become longer the toms start to gobble more. Although the hens may not be ready to breed at this time (because they are either not ready, or it is too cold and wet) the toms are, and they increase their gobbling in an effort to attract the hens. This results in an increase in gobbling prior to the primary breeding phase. If the hens are still in large flocks they may begin to breakup and migrate at this time. The toms may follow the hen groups when they migrate, or the toms may migrate later. Because the toms are ready to breed, and they are still establishing dominance, they may respond to the sound of a hen to initiate breeding, or to the sound of a gobbler to exert dominance. This phase may last a week or more, until the hens are ready to breed.

Phase 4: Primary Breeding Period Gobbling Lull (mid to late April)

As the days continue to grow longer, and the weather warms, the hens become interested in breeding and spend more time at feeding areas and strutting sites, where the toms often hang out. To attract the hens when they are within visual range the toms gobble less, and begin to display by strutting, showing their colorful head, and by spitting and drumming. Because the toms are displaying instead of calling to attract hens there is a decrease in gobbling during this phase. This is when the toms are least likely to respond to a call. This phase may last from a few days to a couple of weeks, depending on the number and sex ratio of birds in the area, and the weather.

Phase 5: Post Primary Breeding Period Gobbling Peak (early to mid May)

After the hens have been bred they begin building nests and laying their eggs. However, they don’t spend much time on the nest until after their last egg has been laid. Since hens may lay up to 12 eggs, they may not begin nesting until 1-2 weeks after they have been bred. While they are laying and nesting the hens usually travel by themselves, but they may join other hens at preferred feeding/strutting sites, where there may be toms. Gobbling activity usually reaches its highest level while the hens nest and the toms try to attract any hens that are still willing to breed. This is when the toms may be the most willing to respond to calling. This phase may last for a week or more.

Phase 6: Nesting Period Gobbling Lull (mid to late May)

Gobbling activity usually decreases within a few weeks of the majority of the hens being bred. During this phase the hens begin to spend more time on their nests, and fewer hens show up at early morning feeding and strutting areas. The decrease in gobbling at this time may be a result of the toms being worn out and seeing fewer hens. Older hens may breed again at this time if their first nesting attempt was unsuccessful. Yearling hens may begin their first breeding during this phase.

Phase 7: Post Nesting Period Gobbling Peak (early to mid June)

During my studies in both 1999 and 2000 there was an increase in gobbling activity by single subdominant toms and groups of jakes in late May. Because researchers believe that gobbling by dominant males suppresses gobbling by subdominants, I suspect that the subdominant jakes and toms began gobbling at this time because the dominants were done gobbling. This gobbling peak may precede a late breeding phase as older hens attempt to re-nest, and yearling hens attempt to nest for the first time. This phase may not occur in all areas.

While food availability, breeding behavior and hunting pressure are fairly predictable on a yearly basis, and most hunters know how game animals react to these conditions, the weather may change daily; in as little time as a few hours. As a result of my studies, and after reading the research of several wildlife biologists, I have come to the conclusion that the current weather is a primary factor in determining daily game activity. Weather affects when and where the animals move each day. Dramatic weather changes in a short period of time often reduces game movement and curtails feeding and breeding behavior.

Light, Cloud Cover

One of the first things I noticed during my study was that the turkeys began gobbling and flew down later than normal when there were cloudy skies. Turkeys rely heavily on their sight to alert them of danger, and because they are daytime animals, they wake up when the sky begins to get light, and they wait to fly down until they can see well enough to detect danger. On cloudy days the toms would begin gobbling 10 to 20 minutes later than they did on days when the sky was clear. Both the toms and hens flew down 10 to 20 minutes later than normal on cloudy days. The dominant toms usually flew down and arrived at the strut later than the hens.

Temperature/Wind-chill

In their study Haroldson, Svihel, Kimmel and Riggs found that when the air temperature was between 18 and 52 degrees, the body temperature of resting wild turkeys declined rapidly during sunset, declined a little during the night, and rose rapidly again at sunrise. When the air temperature was between -8 and 18 degrees the body temperature of the turkeys remained higher than it did in warmer temperatures, and increased at a lower rate during sunrise and throughout the day. This suggests that turkeys are most active when the temperatures or windchills are above 18 degrees. When it is 30 degrees, a 10 mile per hour wind produces a 16 degree windchill factor.

During my study most gobbling occurred when morning temperatures/wind-chills were between the upper 30’s and lower 60’s. Gobbling was severely reduced when the temperature dropped below 30 degrees, although this may have been because most of the cold days were cloudy, windy, and rainy or snowy. Because turkeys inhabit a wide variety of habitats they are accustomed to different temperatures and wind-chills. Noted turkey biologist Lovett Williams Jr. told me that turkeys in Florida gobble when morning temperatures are below 32 degrees. I shot my first Merriam’s turkey in Nebraska while it was gobbling at 10:30 in the morning, it was 96 degrees.

On cold days the birds not only called less, they also began calling later than normal, usually after it had warmed in the mid-morning hours. They also flew down later than normal. Once they were on the ground the turkeys often sought areas that were open to the sun, usually out of the wind, where they were warmer because of solar radiation. During extremely cold weather they sought food sources out of the wind, and fed for quite some time before they returned to the woods. I often saw them feeding on top of an open corn crib, at a silage pile not far from a cattle barn, and in a field where the farmer spread cattle manure every few days.

Precipitation

A research paper by Kienzler, Little and Fuller, sent to me by Dr. James Earl Kennemer of the NWTF, stated that when there had been precipitation during the last 12 hours, gobbling activity was reduced. That started me wondering if rain affected the movements of the birds as well, so I began to pay particular attention to when and where I heard and saw the birds on rainy days, and on days after it had rained. The first thing I noticed was that when it was raining, or had rained during the night, the birds flew down later than normal. If it had rained during the night, but wasn’t raining in the morning, I often saw the birds sitting in open areas out of the wind, especially if the sun was shining, with their wings outspread, trying to dry out.

If it was still raining in the morning the birds often stayed in wooded areas later than normal, and fed and rested in wooded areas with sparse or low ground cover. When the vegetation was wet they preferred to stay on game rails, old roads, and in areas with low vegetation. If the birds came out into the open to feed they used areas with low vegetation; new growth meadows, picked agricultural fields and pastures. But, not all birds are alike. The state wildlife habitat manager and I were reviewing our habitat improvement program one day when we saw a hen standing in the middle of a gravel road in a pouring rain.

I also found that the birds were late on their daily travels if it had rained in the last twelve hours. When the skies were still cloudy the morning after it had rained, the birds flew down later than normal, and arrived at traditional feeding/strutting areas later than normal, later than they did when the skies were cloudy but when it had not rained. When it was both cloudy and raining in the morning the birds flew down even later still.

I didn’t understand why the birds were so late after it rained until I watched them feeding one afternoon. They were in a soybean field about a half mile from a group of white oaks where they often roosted. When they were in this area the birds usually fed in the field on the east side of the woods, moved around to the south side of the woods, and then flew into the trees about 50 yards from the field edge. The next morning they would fly down from the trees and land in the bean field, about fifty yards from the edge of the woods.

On this particular evening the turkeys had been feeding for about a half an hour when it started to rain. Within minutes the birds moved into the woods, and as it continued to rain they flew into a group of elms, where they roosted for the night. Because it was raining in the afternoon, before the birds normally roosted, they had stopped feeding earlier than normal, flew up into trees they didn’t normally use, and roosted earlier than normal. Because they were farther away from their traditional feeding/strutting area the next morning, they couldn’t fly down into the field like they normally did. Because it rained during the night the birds flew down later the next morning. When they did fly down they landed in the woods, and eventually worked their way to the soybean field. But, they got there about an hour later than they normally did.

There were several times during the study when it rained in the afternoon before the birds flew up to roost in one of their normal roosting areas. When this happened the birds flew down later than normal the next morning, they often used different travel routes than they normally used, they were more likely to feed in wooded areas, and they usually arrived at open feeding/strutting areas later than normal.

Wind

When it was not windy the birds often roosted on the upper two thirds of east or south facing slopes. I suspect this was because the prevailing winds were westerly, and because the birds might gain the benefit of late evening and early morning sunlight. When there were strong winds, or when it was both cold and windy, the birds roosted on the downwind sides of slopes or wooded areas, in heavy cover if they could. In areas where there are conifers, turkeys often roost in them during cold weather. On windy days, especially when it was cold or rainy, the birds usually fed in areas out of the wind; low-lying areas, wooded areas, and the down wind side of hills or woods. When they did feed in areas open to the wind they ate quickly and then moved into protected areas earlier than normal.

Barometric Pressure

According to noted waterfowl biologist Dr. Jim Cooper, birds have numerous air sacs in their bodies that allows them to detect slight changes in barometric pressure, and warns them of approaching storms. Some hunters believe birds, including turkeys, feed heavily up to two days before a storm because they know it is coming. This would allow them to wait out a storm and resume feeding after it passes.

Lunar Factors

With all the hype, in seminars and in print, about how the moon supposedly affects animals due to its gravitational pull, I felt I should some information on how the moon may affect turkeys. I have spoken to several different researchers about the “lunar game activity predictor tables”: the Solunar Tables, Dan Barnett’s Fishing and Hunting Times, Vektor Game and Fish Activity Tables, Jeff Murray’s Moon Guide and the Lunartic’s Moon Card, and found that none of them had any evidence suggesting that the gravitational pull of the moon had any effect on the hourly activity of turkeys.

During my research I kept track of breeding behavior, peak breeding dates, and noted the moon phase; to see if there were any correlation’s between turkey activity, lunar factors, and the lunar game activity predictor tables. One of the first things I noticed was that none of the game activity tables accurately predicted daily turkey activity. While there were a few days each month when I saw turkeys on the days and times predicted, most of the predicted days were during nice weather, and many of the predicted times were in the morning, when turkeys normally feed. During mid-day hours, and when the weather conditions were poor, I saw very few turkeys at the times predicted. That’s because lunar predictor charts fail to take into account the current weather conditions, food availability, breeding behavior and hunting pressure, which all affect turkey behavior, and which can over ride any influence the moon has on daily turkey activity.

However, during my 1998 turkey research I did notice that gobbling activity was cyclical, and that gobbling seemed to peak during two different lunar cycles. I didn’t think much about it for the next two years, until I again noticed that average weekly gobbling peaked at regular intervals, and that the peaks often correlated with two different lunar cycles. I now believe that peak gobbling, which is when tom turkeys are the most willing to come to a call, can be predicted.

Social Structure

Turkeys habitually occur in flocks. Hens and young of the year often stay together throughout the summer in family groups or flocks of several families, with an older hen as the dominant bird of each family, and possibly of each group. In the fall young males or “jakes” form their own flocks and stay together through the winter. These groups of jakes may join adult males in the spring, during the breeding season. Adult male flocks form in the summer after the breeding season and remain together until spring, when some toms go off by themselves. But, males may form small groups of two or more birds during the breeding season. I have seen as many as six toms in one group. Several groups of gobblers may form an alliance and fight other groups of gobblers for dominance and breeding rights. Since dominance is established within each family as the young birds grow, and the male siblings of each family often stay together into adulthood, the dominant male of each group is often the sibling of the other males in the group.

Winter Behavior

During the winter turkeys separate into flocks of different sexes and age groups; the old and young hens remain in their own flocks, the jakes in other flocks, and the toms in yet other flocks. This flocking instinct is strong in most grazing animals that depend on their ability to see and hear for defense. Because they spend so much time eating they can’t always be on guard. Therefore, the more animals there are together, the more time each one can spend eating while others watch; there is security in numbers.

Spring Behavior

With the approach of spring the weather gets warmer, daylight hours become longer and turkeys get the urge to mate. The jakes may join the toms and begin forming small groups that search for hens. Both the jakes and toms begin to associate with the hens as they all look for new spring growth, succulent grasses, forbes and insects that appear near stream beds and on south facing slopes that warm up first. They look for leftover agricultural crops, mast crops of nuts and acorns, and pick through cow chips, cattle feeding areas, and old and new plowing for insects and leftover food. Where turkeys inhabit hilly or mountainous terrain they may even change home ranges, seeking higher elevations as snow depth decreases and new forage becomes available. They may travel from as little as a quarter mile, to as many as several miles between their winter and spring range.

Daily Activity

Turkeys normally roost in trees at night, wake up about an hour before daylight, begin calling about a half-hour before daylight, and fly down from their roost from a half-hour to ten minutes before daylight. Once they are on the ground they usually look for food. If they land in wooded areas they may look for nearby food; they generally move to an open feeding area within a half hour. Whether they are in wooded, shrub or open areas they search for seeds, nuts, grasses, forbes and small insects on the ground.

I’ve seen a wintering flock of turkeys spend four hours in a cornfield in early spring, prior to the breeding season. However, the normal amount of time spent by large flocks or groups feeding in open areas is about an hour to an hour and a half. Then they move to a new opening or into the woods. During mid-day the turkeys may loaf in wooded areas and fly up to roost. They generally begin to feed again in the late afternoon, and fly back up to roost at about sundown.

It was a cold February morning when I left the house about an hour after sunrise. The temperature was 15 degrees, the wind chill was 5 degrees, the wind was from the northwest and the sky was clear. It wasn’t the best of days to go scouting, but it was warmer than it had been in several days. I hoped the warmer weather would cause the deer and turkeys to come out and feed. As I drove down the gravel road a half mile from the house I noticed turkeys feeding in the snow covered soybean field on the south side of an oak woods. That woods was a traditional wintering area for many of the turkeys within a two-mile area.

I pulled the truck over to the side of the road, grabbed my Simmons 7×35 binoculars, and checked out the birds. There wasn’t a tom in the bunch, but there were 42 hens. I watched the birds feeding for the next half-hour, checking the edge of the woods every few minutes for deer and more turkeys. When no other birds appeared I started up the truck and drove around to east side of the woods. As I approached an old sandstone foundation I saw more turkeys. I slowed the truck to look. Thirteen longbearded toms were digging through the snow where the combine had dumped a pile of soybeans. I snapped a couple of pictures with my Canon Sure Shot and watched the toms feed for about ten minutes then left. I still had a couple of other places I wanted to check out.

I drove to a tar road, hung a left up a winding road, and eventually topped out on a cornfield surrounded on two sides by oaks. I scanned the area carefully, but there wasn’t a turkey or a deer in sight. I headed back down the road, drove another half mile north and turned east. As I topped out on another hill I looked to my left. There was a large flock of turkeys feeding on a silage pile not more than 100 yards from a farmhouse. I quickly counted: 56 hens. Not wanting to waste time I continued up the road to the top of the hill and hung a left. As I started down the other side of the hill I looked east and saw more birds and several deer feeding in a snow covered pasture. There were 5 does and fawns, and 17 jakes and toms. As I watched the birds something up ahead caught my eye.

A quarter of a mile in front of the truck several more turkeys crossed the road, heading into a cornfield where the farmer had spread manure. I drove the truck slowly forward and parked near the corn field, the turkeys not more than thirty yards from the truck. There were 22 hens, 2 jakes, and 3 toms, one of them with a double bird. It was only the second multiple bearded tom I had seen in the wild, the first was a triple bearded Merriam’s turkey I had seen on the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge near Valentine, Nebraska. I tried to snap a picture of the bird, but I knew it was too far away for my Canon Sure Shot. But, at least I had seen a double bearded tom; and I knew there were over 100 turkeys within three miles of home, several of them on land that I hunted. It looked like it would be a good turkey season in the spring.

Winter is a great time to scout for turkeys, because the birds are very visible in open meadows and picked agricultural fields, especially if there is snow on the ground. The easiest way to locate turkeys in the winter is to drive down the country roads at daylight. Even in winter turkeys will often fly down from the roost and move to feeding areas early in the morning. I have seen turkeys feeding from as early as 20 minutes before sunrise to as late as four hours after sunrise in early February. You may only see hens at first, but where there’s food and hens, there will eventually be jakes and toms.

Although the birds may not be in the same area in the winter as they are in the spring, they are much easier to locate in the winter than at any other time of the year. Cold weather and deep snow cause the birds to move to south facing slopes, the down-wind side of ridges, and low-lying areas where they can get out of the wind, and where travel is easier because the snow isn’t as deep. Limited food sources cause the birds to concentrate on remaining natural foods; agricultural crops, fields where manure has been spread, feed lots, silage piles, and corncribs. Don’t be surprised if you see turkeys near farms and human activity. I’ve got one flock that feeds under a bird feeder within ten yards of a house. Another flock feeds in the cow pasture fifty yards from a milking parlor. I’ve even seen turkeys fly up to feed in an uncovered corncrib within fifty yards of a farmhouse, with a dog in the back yard.

Once you locate turkey-feeding areas check them as often as you can, both morning and evening. I often see toms feeding earlier or later in the day than the hens. The more often you check the area, the more you will know about the birds. After you locate a wintering flock of turkeys it’s fairly easy to follow their movements through late winter and early spring.

After the weather warms up and new plant growth appears, the birds will start to move out of the wintering area. During my research in I found that when the average weekly temperature gets above freezing, the flocks begin to breakup, they begin to move to their spring/summer range and the toms begin gobbling. Once this happens you should watch the birds as often as you can, so that you know where to find them during the hunting season.

If you lose track of the birds between winter and the breeding season, use a topographical map to look for higher elevations, with adequate roost areas, and nearby food sources within 1 to 5 miles of the wintering site. Well-known turkey researcher Dick Kimmel told me that a flock of radio collared birds moved five miles in one day. He wasn’t sure, but he thought some of this movement might have been due to flying and gliding from one ridge top to another. Turkeys can’t travel very far with any speed when the snow depth is over about eight inches, unless the fly.

Once you locate likely roosting and feeding areas you can drive the nearby roads listening for gobbles on warm days. I’ve heard turkeys gobbling regularly once the average weekly temperature rises above freezing. Turkeys begin to gobble as early as mid-March as far north as Minnesota.

If you want to be successful on turkeys in the spring, winter is a good time to start.