By Bob Brunisholz

During the 2003 spring turkey season, Maryland gobbler gunners came a mere seven birds from establishing a new state record, and New Jersey and Delaware hunters experienced gobbler hunting that was rated between good and great.

Weatherwise, last spring's turkey season was one of the most miserable on record. It rained nearly every day. Meteorologists said April, and indeed, much of May, were the wettest months on recent record, with rainfall measuring far above norms.

Yet, despite the rain and a prior harsh winter, Maryland and New Jersey hunters experienced exceptional turkey harvest numbers. Delaware sportsmen, while not in the record-setting mode, enjoyed a spring hunt that a biologist labeled, "a season we hoped for but didn't expect."

So, what is the reason, or reasons, behind the successes of hunters in these three states? For starters, any gobbler gunner who has had more than two or three years experience sitting in a pre-sunrise setup or blind, will gladly tell anyone willing to listen that the wild turkey is a rather distinguished and tough bird. If there is a way to survive, the tenacious turkey will find it.

Add to that the efforts of each of these states' chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) to assist various state biologists in nearly anything and everything from (turkey) hunter recruitment to planting and offering seed stock to qualified farmers, and the equation culminates with positive numbers despite horrid weather conditions.

Photo by D. Toby Thompson

Undeniably, old Ben Franklin's suggestion to adopt the wild turkey as our national bird was voted down primarily, or so the story goes, because the turkey has a face that only a mother turkey could love. But Franklin understood the tenacity of the wild turkey and its adaptability to nearly any condition.

Loss of habitat will do in the wild turkey and just about any other wild animal, and a loss of habitat is precisely what caused the near extinction of many wild turkeys throughout most of the Northeast during the turn of the century. Nevertheless, through the efforts of the NWTF partnered with professional wildlife biologists, the turkey has returned, in force.

Maryland can be used as a prime example of just how well the wild turkey adapts to nearly all conditions. According to Bob Long, turkey biologist for Maryland's Department of Natural Resources, Free State hunters harvested a total of 3,120 gobblers last spring, compared to 3,127 during the 2002 season, and this despite a harsh winter that predated a rainy spring.

"We attribute the great success of the 2003 harvest to several factors, one of which included an extension of our traditional four-week season to five weeks. Considering hunters had one additional week in which to hunt, it thereby stands to reason that harvest figures would be higher," said Long.

But the addition of a week wasn't the only reason for the near-record harvest.

"Thanks to our turkey program, we now have birds in parts of Maryland where they never were before. Populations of wild turkeys are growing at a phenomenal rate. Despite some really tough weather conditions last spring and winter, the population expansion has placed birds into many areas that otherwise would not have offered gobbler gunners much of a chance at bagging a bird," said Long.

Biologist Long said it was Maryland's western counties, in the more mountainous regions, where the tough winter and wet spring proved harshest for wild turkeys.

"We had hardly any reported mortalities," said Long. "Undoubtedly, a few birds may have perished during a rather tough winter, but it must have been very few, since reports of mortalities are minimal, nearly non-existent."

One element that perhaps aided in seeing the birds through what Long characterized as a "tough winter" was assistance from members and officials of the state's chapter of the NWTF working in conjunction with biologists.

When asked his prognostications about the coming spring turkey season, Long wasn't a bit hesitant to predict, " . . . perhaps a record harvest." But, he did hedge his bet.

"Whether that comes true depends a lot on last winter and how tough it was on the birds, and whether spring (of 2004) offers ideal conditions, which it didn't last year. Nonetheless, judging by the increase in (turkey) populations, it wouldn't surprise me if we had a record harvest this spring," said Long.

Garrett County came in tops last spring with a grand total of 431 harvested gobblers, while Allegheny County was second with a harvest of 332. Washington and Dorchester counties tallied 325 birds each, while Worchester came in fifth with 304 birds.

Again, spring turkey hunters will enjoy a five-week season as opposed to the traditional four weeks, according to Long. But the two-bird limit comes with a caveat from Long.

Long said hunters who did not harvest a bird last fall may take two gobblers, but the hunters who were successful during the fall will be restricted to the traditional one-bird bag limit. The Youth Turkey Hunting Day is slated for April 17, while the regular season will open April 19 and conclude May 24.

Garden State gobbler gunners bagged 3,584 birds during the spring of 2003, compared to 3,770 during the 2002 spring season. Though the tally was shy of the previous spring's harvest by a mere 186 birds, most turkey hunters felt the yield should have fallen far short of previous years, given, of course, the wet, soggy spring and a winter with a lot of snowfall.

Despite what looked like a disaster in the making, biologist Anthony McBride, turkey project leader for New Jersey's Division of Fish and Wildlife, said last year's harvest was a paltry 5 percent below that of the 2002 spring season. This slight reduction was due, according to McBride, to the previous spring's wet conditions when poult mortality was a factor for birds that would have been jakes during the spring of 2003.

"Even though we had a lot of snow during the winter of 2002-03, we had no reports of die-offs. The prior spring, however, had a dramatic impact on last spring (2003) when there weren't as many jakes (yearling tom turkeys) around." said McBride, noting it's entirely possible that the same scenario may occur this coming season, due to the harsh winter and wet spring of 2003.

In addition, the 5 percent reduction from the prior year may have been due to a lack of hunter turnout during the rainy periods of the 2003 season.

"There are no red flags waving concerning any reduction in turkey populations, but we feel many hunters may have taken a break last spring because of unusually heavy rains. We had what I'd call some exceptional parameters with which to deal during spring of 2003, and any host of factors could have influenced the slight harvest reduction," said McBride.

In addition, McBride pointed out that New Jersey gobbler gunners traditionally utilize private lands as much, or perhaps more so, than public lands.

"We have a lot of land that is not open to public hunting, and there is a lot of what we call 'hunter spillover' on these lands. Certainly, hunters utilizing private lands still have to check their birds and we have an accurate count of the harvest, but we usually don't do surveys or trap-and- transfer on those lands. Nevertheless, while anticipating a good season this spring, I expect fewer jakes to be available to hunters," McBride said.

The hotspots for Garden State turkey hunters ran the gamut from the far northern reaches of the state to the deep southern areas, according to McBride.

"Sussex, Hunterdon and Warren counties came in with the highest totals during the 2003 season, and as your readers know, all three counties, with the exception of Hunterdon, are to the north. But the next highest harvest totals came from Salem and Cumberland counties in the southern regions of the Garden State," McBride said.

Sussex County hunters fared best, bagging 610 birds, while Hunterdon County accounted for 489. Warren County was close on the heels of the two northern counties with 373, but the high harvest count then turned south.

Cumberland County turkey hunters bagged a not-at-all-shabby total of 521 birds, followed closely by Salem County gunners who harvested 519 turkeys.

Like his biologist counterparts in the Mid-Atlantic region, McBride attributed the success of New Jersey's ever-expanding turkey population to "just plain, good solid management programs as well as an ever-welcome helping hand from various state and regional chapters of the NWTF.

"The men and women from NWTF who unselfishly volunteer their time, efforts and money have had a dramatic, albeit, positive impact on our wild turkey populations. They often accompany us on trap-and-transfer efforts, sometimes in the harshest of weather. In addition, they purchase seeds for habitat management and often help with the purchase of items like trapping nets and much more. Our program wouldn't be where it is today if it weren't for the efforts of the various New Jersey chapters of the NWTF," said McBride.

New Jersey's Youth Turkey Hunting Day this spring is slated for Saturday, April 17, after which the regular turkey season kicks off on the following Monday and continues in the traditional six-segment season until May 4. The last day of the "E" segment of spring turkey season (the E segment covers weekends) is May 28.