What Happened to the Turkeys?

I hunt in SW Bracken County, within sight of the Pendleton County line. As a result, I always try to compare harvest numbers between that county and as part of the NorthEast Region as a whole. I started hunting there in 2002, so my knowledge is limited to that time range.

For about the first decade I was worried. Bracken had always been a powerhouse in the NE, due to its proximity to the Bluegrass region. It was always near the top of the standings in the NE. Pendleton has always been one of the top counties in the state–much higher than Bracken in the standings. What worried me was that I kept seeing Bracken slide a little year by year. It would have a few good years, but it generally stayed below its average. Pendleton was always going great guns, and the NE in general was doing well. Why was Bracken sliding?

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What I’m now beginning to see is that both Bracken and Pendleton counties have become stable. This is what the KWFWDR basically wants– a stable population that doesn’t differ all that much year-to-year. Bracken’s trend is now flat. Pendleton is now flattened considerably with 3 below average years. What is the big story– the big picture that I’m just now seeing– is that the NorthEast region’s turkey harvests are on a distinct upward trend. While Bracken has assumed a steady state. The NE as a whole is booming. My guess is that hunters are utilizing these counties more. The NE is on its way up, and Bracken’s percentage of the total number of birds for the region is declining as a result.

Bracken’s numbers were positively abysmal. They are the 3rd worst in this century- 2000 and 2014 are the other two stinkers. However, the good news is that the NE region as a hole held a lot closer to the average despite being below the trend. Pendleton has had two really sucky years back to back. What causes all this?

1) The May weather. When it is cold and rainy in May, the poults die. Last year was horrible. Howeer, I did see young poults in August indicating the hens had gone back and laid another batch of eggs after the first failure.

2) Folks are talking coons and coyotes. Coons are overdue for a major correction. Normally distember outbreaks keep their numbers down. The most recent one was some time ago. Coyotes come and go as well. Parvo took them out around 2005 in our neighborhood. Their numbers are climbing. Right around my place there has been an influx of feral cats. That could stand some correction.

The good news is that I saw fairly normal to above-normal hen activity this year. That means hens bred and went to nest. It now remains to wait until June and see if the poults show up. I also saw 4 jakes on the Opener, and several 2 year olds and at least one mature gobbler that did not get taken in the first week. A good number of these will be back next year.

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