jim wright
Expect to see more wild turkeys in the coming months as they congregate near food sources, an expert says.
Posted on 12/04/2014 7:36:59 PM PST by Coleus
Here's a toast to turkeys — not the ones gracing so many dinner plates a week from today, but the wild ones that have made a remarkable comeback in New Jersey in recent decades after disappearing in the mid-1850s. Since the state Division of Fish and Wildlife reintroduced wild turkeys to the state with the release of 22 birds in 1977, the population has grown to more than 20,000. Folks will likely start seeing more and more flocks of turkeys in our region in coming weeks and into next spring as these large birds congregate near food sources.
Last April, it seemed like wild turkeys were popping up everywhere in North Jersey — including my own back yard, where a tribe of 15 wandered past in search of food one morning. A friend even sent a picture of a turkey crossing at an intersection in downtown Bloomfield (though it was unclear if the traffic light was green). There were also several reports of Toms harassing walkers or chasing people's cars as they left their driveways.
What to make of all this? For the answers, I called Tony McBride, a principal wildlife biologist for the N.J. Division of Fish and Wildlife, the state agency that has dealt with these birds in suburbs for the past two decades.
Q. Why do we see so many turkeys in the colder months?
Turkeys form their biggest flocks in the winter, when they seem to concentrate around food sources. In the spring, the flocks disperse and the hens travel across the countryside looking for a place to make a nest. In the suburban/urban interface — Essex, Bergen, places like that — you'll have flare-ups of turkey activity from time to time, but they don't seem to persist in an area for more than five years or so. Things change, and you might see flocks crop up in another area.
Q. Is the turkey population increasing in New Jersey?
Our population peaked around 2001 after a lot of good production. We've had a lot of wet springs and the birds haven't been able to rear as many young.
Q. Why are some male turkeys aggressive?
It's not so much a territorial thing as a buildup of testosterone in their system. In rural areas, the birds still have a fear of people. In the suburbs, where they get no negative interaction from people, they can become aggressive. They see their reflection in cars, and they want to fight their reflection. They can chase people as well. If they exhibit any abnormal behaviors like that, our unit is the one that goes out and captures those birds.
Q. Do the flocks have a pecking order?
There's usually one or two dominant males, and the others will be subordinate.
Q. Is it OK for people to feed turkeys?
We don't recommend it. Turkeys can find natural food on their own. We don't recommend any activity that conditions the birds to lose their fear of people.
Q. Turkeys have a reputation for being a bit dumb. Is it justified?
I don't think it is a question of their being smart or stupid; they're just very careful about new things in their surroundings. For example, if you see them coming across a garden hose stretched across your back yard for the first time, they might stare at it or look at it cock-eyed. They might walk all the way around it rather than just step over it. People may look at that and say that's stupid, but I call it being wary.
Coming in two weeks: Results of the Birdy 30 Challenge.
New Jersey?
New Jersey.
Their not much to look at either.
I hate the damn things, inside or outside. I dread Thanksgiving and Christmas when I’m obliged to eat from the carcass of one.
I’m old enough now that I don’t need to feel guilty about what I don’t like and, thank God, rich enough to pick and choose. It may not always be so.
Anyway, this year I had ham.
They can be taken with air rifles out here in CA now during season. They are prolific, got thick enough around my town that the local old folks development hired a turkey sniper to come in and hit about 50 of them with a suppressed .22
Yep, tons of ‘em in the Sacramento area. Like giant pigeons. Not afraid of people at all. Of course go up into the National Forest it’s a whole different story. They aren’t so dumb as to not know where they are safe and where they aren’t.
70 mph in Mizzou...
I saw one fly once while on horseback in the Shenandoah Mountains.
I came into a large meadow, and saw a turkey (maybe 30 yards away) begin running at top speed through the tall grass, and it had that peculiar head forward posture as it ran. Suddenly it took wing, and my mouth dropped open...I had never seen one fly before!
Now, it didn’t get too far off the ground (about 20 feet maybe) and its wings looked very fat and stubby, but it flew into the woods at the edge of the clearing and disappeared.
Very cool!
Wild turkeys in Bergen County? I’ve said for years that a black bear sighting in Lodi would herald the Apocalypse.
I’ve seen them fly a few times, I shot one with a .284 on the wing about 100 feet over me many years back. Hit it in the neck (I was aiming for it’s head)...
There has ALWAYS been turkeys in NJ! >>
hey, you callin’ me a turkey? LOL
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.