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Post by bowbum on Mar 21, 2021 10:00:11 GMT -5
There was a lot of talk around here this winter about lack of turkeys but we had seen several huge flocks within 10 to 20 miles of here and I was fairly sure they had just congregated in other more remote areas.
So, in the last 3 days we've had 4 different flocks converging together in our fields numbering around 70 birds total.
They were battling for glory this morning and when they left they separated again into different flocks.
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Post by fleroo on Mar 22, 2021 8:22:14 GMT -5
That would be a "Day's of Yore" pic down here. I'm not a bird hunter, but that is nice to see.
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Post by ridgecommander on Mar 22, 2021 8:52:23 GMT -5
That would be a "Day's of Yore" pic down here. You ain't kidding there. Once commonplace around here. Now the areas I hunt one Tom courting 2 hens. Used to be 4 Toms courting 25. |
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Post by Loggy on Mar 22, 2021 9:25:28 GMT -5
Nice!! Send them over to Hillsgrove!!  |
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Post by buzz on Mar 22, 2021 9:34:58 GMT -5
Good to hear they survived a rough winter.
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Post by dennyf on Mar 24, 2021 13:22:00 GMT -5
That's good news. Up to camp for a few days this weekend, actually Sunday to Tuesday. Drove around Sunday afternoon, three nice gobblers next valley over. Also caught the tail end of the Maple Syrup open house weekend, at the place I get my syrup.They said they were mobbed with visitors Saturday.
Monday evening drove around the area again, counted over 90 deer out around dusk. Part of my usual spotlighting route I've been doing for decades. Less than a square mile in area. Didn't get to complete the rest of the route that takes me back to camp, got dark. Most of those deer were in picked cornfields.
Yesterday talked to my closest neighbor up the road. They got a dozen deer in rifle season, all told. He had company opening weekend, second weekend and ending weekend (last Friday and Saturday) Told his friends to bring along more folks next year.
Serious deer problem getting worse around there, year after year. Got an attaboy for shooting a doe just down from his house, second Thursday of last season.
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Post by bowbum on Mar 25, 2021 7:25:28 GMT -5
That would be a "Day's of Yore" pic down here. I'm not a bird hunter, but that is nice to see. My brother in law said the PGC killed off all the turkeys ---- ruined turkey hunting for the next 5 years. His wife called on Sunday to tell us they had over 50 birds in their corn stubble and they drove to town and saw another flock that was even bigger. No doubt some places have far fewer but these buggers can trick us sometimes when they go in to hiding. |
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Post by dennyf on Mar 25, 2021 9:05:05 GMT -5
In my experiences over the years at camp, have noted that flocks tend to move around quite a bit, especially once winter has ended and food sources improve a bit. "Here" for a few weeks, gone for another several weeks, especially when it's warmed up and insects are available? Years ago my cousin finally saw the light on this, when he stopped to visit a farmer over in NY, maybe two miles from camp. While they were talking, a big flock of turkeys were feeding across the guy's fields. Roughly the same sized flock we'd had in our area for some time. Figured out they'd showed up over in NY, not long after they'd disappeared from our area. We had turkeys around where camp is, back in the early 60s. Heckman argued with me thirty five years ago, on that issue. Then we got a new Game Warden in our home area. He told me one of his first assignments out of the training school in the mid 60s, was helping our Tioga Co. warden trap turkeys to stock other areas of the state. After hearing that, Don finally figured out I was right after all? Our local turkey numbers probably peaked about ten years ago, where camp is. Still plenty of turkeys from time to time, usually when I ain't there trying to shoot one. Doesn't matter when I go up for spring gobbler, cousin's favorite thing is telling me, shoulda been here last week.  Still see flocks of a dozen or more now and then. I think the past few springs have been bad for nesting hens around there, due to late spring periods of cold, rainy weather. Heavy spring rains and flooding were the norm three springs in row up there, starting in 2017. |
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Post by fleroo on Mar 25, 2021 9:28:15 GMT -5
My memory goes back to the early 70's as far as Turkey down here. And I can say, back in the 70's, even the latter 70's, it was a rarity to encounter a Turkey in Washington County. Any Turkey hunting in SW PA, was done in "The Mountains". Ohiopyle SP, Forbes SP, etc... My cousin and I went to Ohiopyle SP in '78-'79'ish. We parked near an access area to a native Trout stream, looking to do some fishing. There was a truck parked there, and we assumed another fisherman. Well, out from the Laurel appeared some bearded dude in face paint, and tiger stripe camo, with a very long camo-taped shotgun. We were kinda stunned, not knowing what the hell was going on, and if this dude had bad intentions. Well, unbeknownst to us, he was a Spring Gobbler hunter. The first I ever encountered.
I do know, when we would pheasant hunt in the fall down here, every blue moon somebody would encounter a small flock of Turkey. I never did, nor even seen one. But the story was always, "If you see them, run at them and break them up". LOL. They may as well have been a Pink Unicorn.
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Post by patinpa on Mar 25, 2021 9:42:03 GMT -5
I remember when I was a kid turkeys were fairly rare in Perry. Then about the mid 90's they exploded and it wasn't uncommon to see multiple flocks of 50 or more just driving around in the fall. There are still a fair amount around but nothing like then. I just saw a flock of at least 48 a couple weeks ago.
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