Ironically, when he climbed down from his tree stand to retrieve his deer, the turkeys were not startled. "They kept a close eye on me, but they were never really out of sight during the entire time I was there dressing out the deer. As I dragged the deer up the hill, the birds were a little startled, flew across a nearby creek and went back to feeding. I guess the wariest game bird in the world isn't nearly as wary as I believed."

Daily phone calls to our states' fish and wildlife departments pertaining to wild turkeys are now just an everyday occurrence. "You would be amazed at the number of calls I receive from people asking what they should do about wild turkeys in their back yards picking up sunflower seeds and cracked corn that have fallen from bird feeders," said Ken Reynolds, a biologist with Delaware's Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

"I had a call a few weeks ago from someone who wanted me to trap and transport a big hen turkey from his back yard because he was concerned the bird may be struck by passing cars. I went to the home, which was located on a busy highway, and there was the bird, walking through their back yard picking up tidbits of food. I had a long-handled net with me, and as far as I was concerned, I didn't believe I had a prayer of netting the bird. The bird obviously felt the same about being netted. Every time I got relatively close, the hen would fly a few feet across a swampy ditch and resume feeding. I would then wade through the muck and mire to the other side of the ditch and the bird would return to the yard. After crossing the ditch a few more times, I decided this was an exercise in futility, so the turkey went back to feeding and when I left it was doing just fine," Reynolds chuckled.

In Delaware, particularly in the state's southern reaches, turkey populations have reached record levels. The population increase was clearly reflected in the First State's 2005 spring gobbler harvest, the second highest in recorded history. "Turkey hunters bagged 148 birds this past spring, the second-best season on record," Reynolds said. "A majority of the birds were bagged in the lower counties, and about two-thirds of them were taken during the season's first week. Our season lasts three weeks, but during an average year, most of the birds are taken during that first week, which is fairly standard."

DELAWARE
Redden State Forest
"Redden State Forest, which is smack dab in the center of Sussex County, seems to be among our most productive state lands for turkey hunters. The forest is composed of various, scattered tracts throughout the county. Most of the area consists of some swampy sections in the middle of fairly dense stands of hardwoods and loblolly pine," Reynolds said.