Dr. Mike Chamberlain THE STATE OF THE WILD TURKEY

[@greenspiritarts]

I appreciate this presentation. I am not a hunter but I recognize the need for responsible hunting as it helps keep herds and flocks strong. I live in norther NY and have enjoyed the gradually increasing turkey flocks in our area over the last 30 years. I’d regularly see 3-8 flocks of 10-30 birds every time I’d go run errands. We had a really good mast year last fall and I thought the turkeys would do well. I started noticing fewer sightings late last summer. And ZERO birds all winter. Not even any tracks. Other people have noticed it too, particularly birders. We are blessed with no real habitat loss or change here that is obvious. No increase in predators that have not been here all along. Small, organic farms are doing welll and their domestic flocks of poultry seem ok. The biggest changes have been extreme weather in the warm seasons ( 2 years of drought followed by a year of record rains) but the turkeys seemed relatively healthy thru all that. Lots of poults as per usual. Roosting in the trees next to my house as they have for years. But ZERO birds this fall and winter has been shocking. No tracks and no dead birds either. We did have a cell tower move in about 5 years ago and maybe we’re just seeing affects now….who knows. All the data from all sources should be collected….birders, land-owners, farmers, scientists, and hunters….this is not normal. To lose all our robust turkeys in less than a year…..something is wrong and we need to understand it so we can help them thrive once more.

[@mcwilliams4546]

Turn off the TV cameras, and quit making an industry out of the sport that most of us love so dearly. I’ve been saying this for years. 20 years ago, I could hunt public land all over my area and not run into that many hunters. Now if you’re not at a spot by 3 am, there’s a truck(most time from out of state)parked there. With the commercialization of turkey hunting, everyone considers themselves a turkey hunter now, and they feel like they need to video it and broadcast it whether on major networks, or on social media. I’m not trying to be a stick in the mud here, but I feel like this has been a major contributor to this issue in my area(north Florida).

[@mikehataway4126]

I’ve been saying that social media is ruining public land turkey hunting.

[@mcwilliams4546]

@@mikehataway4126 It definitely is,and private too. Price of access is through the roof now. A lease for spring turkey(6 week season) will cost you the same amount as a year round deer/recreation lease now, and a lot of that can be attributed to views and likes. Just look at the circus that the NWTF convention has become. All about selling gadgets and promoting TV and KZbin channels. It’s a shame.

[@mcwilliams4546]

@Bowman01 I don’t watch it anymore either. They’ve made celebrities out of guys that are making it harder to access hunting ground, and peddling overpriced gear.

[@allenthomas5297]

In the surrounding area on WMA land very near NWTF headquarters in South Carolina we have a major reduction in population. We have to pay approx $50 extra to hunt these lands as a resident hunter. I hunt all season for 25 years. I am a hunter not a killer. All I see from NWTF is a new sign saying they are doing something. I see no evidence of that. These lands are being timbered and habitat is being destroyed to plant fast growing worthless pine trees that are designed to be harvested in short period of time. Possibly the end of an era. Thank you Father God for the time we had.

[@mcwilliams4546]

@@allenthomas5297 I served on our local banquet committee for a couple years. After each banquet, the regional NWTF guy or gal would sit down with the treasurer and count money. They would then take their 90% or whatever it was, and be out the door. Leaving us to clean the venue,etc. When we hosted youth deer and turkey hunts, we as a chapter had to buy our own banners, but we’re required to have the NWTF logo on them. I for the life of me can’t see any of these great things they claim to do.

[@markbyrne4112]

Good information, working up a new farm and working hard to make it deer and turkey friendly.

[@waynewallace1621]

I’m gonna say this and this is real….. I and my closest turkey huntin buddies who worship the wild turkey , have seen this coming bc of a few major topics: 1. The harvest limits should be streamlined across the states…. FL , GA, MS are 2-3…. AL was 5 til this year down to 4! What a joke! Get bama down to 2 and hold somehow these renegade private landowners accountable….. They kill more than 5 and say things like if turkeys are gobblin u need to kill em”….. 2. Take the social media and exploitation of the wild turkey down in volume….. u want more birds then do away with the multi million dollar industry around TV with anyone who can push red button, make decoys illegal, and do away with the damn blinds ….. ANYONE THAT HAS NO INTELLECT CAN KILL A TURKEY TOMORROW WITH NO Skill set!!!!! Get back to being a student of the game and deer huntin for turkeys!!!! Way more goofy D killers than true Hunters…..as far as social media and industry… i hold PRIMOS accountable for contributing to these pitfalls…. Get back to being good hunters if u love the bird so much and be better….. tell me I’m lying! 3. Figure out how to demoralize the outlaws….. i am aware of several hunters that kill 3xs the limit and somehow justify it…… braggin rights and a D contest and wearing the beards like a damn Apache wearing scalps. Kill ur 2 damn birds and see the sport flourish…. Spend ur time helping a small kid or impaired person that needs help! Make the blinds legal for the physically impaired individuals or not ….i woukd never have my kid in a dumbass blind …. Bc ur admitting u suck and know nuthin about what ur doing or too damn lazy to learn.. sit ur ass on the ground at base of tree and see how good u are and love it more everyday when that bird whoops ur ass and you develop that deserved respect for the finest creature on the planet. I’m gonna say this last thing then let ya go…… i am not lily white in all of this over my 29 yrs of sittin down on em but i have learned something every year and every year my love and passion for this bird grow stronger and it chills me to the bone to think my boys will not be able to spend a lifetime chasing these birds with their children. Wake up everyday and thank God above for this unbelievable creation that we have abused for the last 15 years. I feel better but also hurt to hear this report…

[@mcwilliams4546]

Let them have their decoys, but definitely outlaw those stupid tents they like to camp in for hours to shoot one when he walks by. Wouldn’t hurt my feelings if filming hunts were to go away . The gadget peddlers and the “like and subscribe” crowd have come close to ruining the thing that some of us hold near and dear for WAY more reason than a picture to post. I’m in north Florida and our limit has been two since I can remember, but there are guys here that regularly kill 10+ and brag about it. They’re a big part of the issue too. I couldn’t agree more with you on your concern for your boys not being able to enjoy this gift that the good lord gave us. My son is 16, and I hope he’s able to keep chasing these awesome critters after I’m gone.

[@matthewallen841]

Great Information! Thanks DR. Chamberlain

[@ericstamm123]

Awesome presentation. Thanks for sharing

[@herbmcclure8087]

Great information for all turkey enthuses.

[@josephsnisky1851]

It's a thought, If cell towers put of microwaves does it affect the eggs ? Some hens have no brood and others have few young.

[@kurtlanford1448]

Trap the ground nest predators , it does help !

[@surfdoc27]

Superb!!!

[@creatednordestroyed5339]

Yes but I agree most declines are result of land conversion.. habitat loss. It will only get worse and worse, faster and faster with technology bridging many gaps.

[@georgegrogan9908]

I’m at a loss. We have a reduction in hunters. We have a reduction in harvest. We have a reduction in turkey population, as far as we know, but not sure what the population is because we are using an outdated basis for this part of the study. 80% of nest are failing but there was no explanation why. Solution: Increase license and reduce harvest limits. Really? I’m at a loss!

[@Pennebaker1]

But we’ve had an increase in suburbanization (habitat loss) and a decrease in predator hunting. No one hunts foxes, coons, and coyotes like they did 20-30 years ago because fur prices fell drastically. So far more nests are getting discovered by raccoons now, which 1 coon will eat every egg in the whole nest in one sitting. And far more poults are getting eaten by foxes, coyotes, hawks, owls, etc. Until the average private landowner starts trapping and managing for turkeys, things likely won’t change

[@bobreed711]

east ok. no one hunts koons or coyotes or foxes soon ther will be no small game.but a bounty on them

[@SellsZac]

Ohio went to 1 bird in the spring and every turkey hunter I know around here is all for it. Do we still have birds? Yeah I can punch all my tags every spring. But its not what it was when I was in highschool (2005-2009). I more than anything notice a real lack of Jakes, which used to be abundant every year.

[@waynemayle865]

Zac I started hunting turkeys in ohio way back when you had to mail in a money order an get a tag what hurt are state is to many out of towers killing more than there allowed plus bobcats coyotes hawks . This morning I heard a few birds gobbling from my back porch nothing like it used to be .good luck this spring

[@dan776]

I'm Ohio also. They need to make non residents a draw system. Ban filming on public lands and eliminate fall season at a minimum.

[@danwombles5283]

A hunter doesn’t need to be a wildlife biologist to deduce, if 80 percent of nests fail, we are losing poult production to predation. Agencies keep pushing habitat improvement, however, in many areas, habitat is not an issue. Take southern MO for example, with over 2 million acres of federal and state forest, which is no different than when I started hunting there over 40 years ago, habitat is not in short supply. With poult counts averaging under 1 for at least the last 15-20 years, it has to be a predator problem. How about giving a bounty on coons, possums, even armidollos, to encourage trapping and hunting them again! I know a guy who manages a large tract of mixtures timber and hill farm ground; with turkey populations declining over years, he jack lighted coons at night and eliminated many. Now, I know this wasn’t legal, but the driving point is - the local turkey population exploded.

[@marklibby4629]

Habitat has expanded significantly in many of the areas that have these declining numbers of turkey. The stories about weather are also just jabber too, we have always had weather (and don't even start to say the words "climate change"...the weather in MO is the same unpredictable mix of all seasons I have experienced all of my life). Anyone who spends a significant amount of time in the woods knows that predators impacting ground nesting birds have gone way up. Their populations need some "management" if we expect this to balance out.

[@garrettstraffon608]

I think there is some simple things that each state could do to help this problem. In pa you can shoot a jake. That should be changed, in the fall you can shoot a hen. That should be changed. Just simple things would help

[@Jakecaseyy]

Thank you to all the people who only take one big bird a year

[@allenthomas5297]

What has happened to the turkey numbers in the Edgefield ,McCormick and Abbeville county areas?

[@TW-lo2uu]

Id like to know that as well. Killed my first bird in Mccormick. It's not even a shell of what it used to be.

[@allenthomas5297]

Check comments under MC Williams post

[@bobheffelfinger2988]

PA back to 1 bird limit please.

[@BlackEagleFeather]

GREAT INFORMATION........ VERY POOR SOLUTION

[@pooonmyshoe5817]

Florida has delayed seasons for as long as I can remember. Our season in the central part opens after Mississippi's. I see birds strutting in early February. Not sure where we sit on population data officially , but I can tell you from experience we have fewer birds. Covid has not helped as far as hunting pressure. Every swinging D thinks they are Dave Owens/ or THP.

[@mcwilliams4546]

Covid and social media have both had equally bad effects on the population here in Florida. Somebody needs to tell these people that the line that separates the Osceola from the eastern is below Miami, and the keys are the best place to kill an Osceola…

[@ranger894]

Were the initial estimates from which the now “precipitous” decline is measured simply too high? And now we are more accurately measuring?

[@perrylongjr7478]

Awesome presentation, definitely hit the nail on the head.

[@exotictones1054]

I have had one 150 birds here on my fields for the last 2wks.never have i seen this many on my place.3 to 5 hens every year but the eggs that make it to a young bird disappear from the fox n coyotes.

[@garden2tableproduce]

Can i come hunt

[@exotictones1054]

@@garden2tableproduce sure let me know your more than welcome as long as you don't bring all your buddy's i hate that.

[@thetrooper1061]

Trap...not bumbling around bush league trap, systematic well timed trapping with good equipment just prior to nesting. Do your part. Fur trade is in the tank habitat only gets you so far

[@braintanningsinew4888]

Let’s go

[@driftlesswild1631]

They talk about increasing harvest percentages. Want to lower those without reducing opportunity? Take the damn tungsten shot away. I didn't like the stuff from the start. Now everybody that wants to throw the money at it can shoot them almost as far as they can see them in most eastern habitat. It's not a silver bullet fix by any means, but it certainly won't hurt.

[@thatonesatelliteguy]

Tss has nothing to do with shooting far 🙄

[@michaelboyles9329]

Awesome wake up call. One thing we need to bring back tagging in turkeys in all states. It also helps local businesses that have been impacted by Covid and telecheck. For a fact that has hurt research, cause hate to say but hunters have changed. Especially let’s say the woke hunters

[@eddiejoiner9181]

Thank goodness there are some studies or research going on in Ky. and other states to help tell us what is happening in the turkey world. As a turkey hunter and sportsman we need not forget, 1st and foremost we need need to protect the resource. A lot of turkey hunters just want big bad limits, plus all the days in the field . Being over protective of helps0 the bird

[@pooonmyshoe5817]

By woke, you mean the yeti stickers and bino harness crew? We call them sidewalk cowboys in Florida.

[@mcwilliams4546]

@@pooonmyshoe5817 North Florida here, and I’ll add the DBags with their instagram handle on the back glass next to the yeti sticker. The “like and subscribe” crowd. You can recognize them because they’ll be the ones wearing the Sitka camo when they get out of their squatted trucks.

[@dylanmcalister3130]

Coyotes and Hogs!!! At least I believe this to be the main issue in my area. Hogs will bust up nests with the best of them and now with the season being cut down to basically two months the wild hog population has exploded. Next, the coyote footprint in my area in my experience has grown exponentially. Last season almost every time I picked up a call the first thing to respond was a coyote coming to get a meal. Push predator management and watch the turkey population grow.

[@rynemailen5949]

Couldn’t agree more

[@davidsoutdooradventuresdoa9174]

You keep asking how....the how is to bring the HUNTER into the equation, we are the 1's in the woods and everywhere, we see wayyyy more than 4 college kids could imagine...bring us into the equation instead of just throwing restrictions at us...we will gladly give information on numbers, locations, nest, poults, predators and anything else u need....we are the end result, we MUST be part of the effort or you'll never see the full scope

[@jbilly24]

We already know production is down. How are the hunters going to bring that back up?

[@davidsoutdooradventuresdoa9174]

@@jbilly24 they need more in depth information and are asking how they can get it....from US, we are the 1's in the woods

[@johnal3]

@@jbilly24 “How many turkeys are out there? We don’t know??” So how far is reproduction down again? Oh, so wait another 10 days for “season” to open to let the boss turkey breed. This is for an entire state that differs big time from north to south!! We want you to log all your turkeys ( because dead turkeys means jack crap), we’re gonna email you a form to fill out for every hunt and we need you to fill it out every hunt…..even though we produce no information off of the info provided…. Whatever. I’m gonna keep hunting and MANAGING, turkeys on my place as I see fit. Y’all have a good season. And some of you need to wipe the chit off your nose and realize that just because somebody has an “education” don’t mean they’re not politicizing YOUR hunting rights.

[@garden2tableproduce]

May be we should close season every other year. Are something idk.Sale tags for turkeys so we know the number of hunters.May be restock like fish....Sighn into out of game lands stating what your hunting.