Of all the game I hunt, my friends seem to really enjoy wild turkey. It is now time to get at it, and the two most important things I do is to remind myself of the habitat they live in and where they roam. Since I have access to four different farms, I scout them out ahead of the season and visit with the landowners to find out where they have seen turkey activity. That has not happened yet this year.
The weather is eastern Nebraska and western Iowa has been miserable to say the least. The cold keeps hanging on and with it comes the humidity. Periodic snow showers and lots of wind have made this one of the worst springs I have ever seen. Having said this cheery piece of news, there was only one thing to do. Get out of town. So my wife and I headed down to Savannah, Georgia for a little R&R and to warm up our cold bones. I am a little behind on getting my scouting done, but it is supposed to warm up and clear off this week. Therefore, I will be going farm to farm visiting with binoculars and coffee.
The information below is from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources website, and it is an excellent source of information. Reading all the DNR websites where a person hunts of fishes is a great way to gather information. (http://www.iowadnr.gov/)
Click on the link above to buy from Bass Pro.
Click on the link above to buy from Bass Pro.
A couple of toots from a crow call will cause the toms to answer back. Then you know where they are hiding. |
In spring and summer, a turkey’s diet switches to a wide variety of seeds, insects and green leafy material. Protein derived from insects is especially important to rapidly growing poults during their first weeks after hatching and to adults replacing feathers after their annual summer molt. Hayfields, restored native grasses, and moderately grazed pastures are excellent producers of insects and are heavily utilized by turkey broods where they are interspersed with suitable forest stands. These grassy areas also provide suitable nesting sites. Turkeys roost at night in trees year around, except for hens sitting on a nest. Any tree larger than 4 inches in diameter at breast height may serve as a roost tree, but larger, mature trees are most often used. Eastern turkeys shift their nest sites almost daily, seldom roosting in the same tree two nights in succession. Certain areas of their home range (area a turkey occupies throughout a season) may be used more heavily than other locations (e.g. a ridge of large trees near a feeding area or a stand of large evergreen trees during very cold weather).
Click on the link above to buy from Bass Pro.
A good ground blind is an essential as it is movement they sense. |