LOOKING AHEAD
A new spring is almost upon us, and Tennessee’s turkey population should be primed for a new harvest record again, thanks to leftover numbers from last season and good results from last spring’s hatch.

Anderson said the brood numbers for summer of 2007 were right on average when compared with the previous years. He added the “brood attrition” showed the average number of poults in each age-class was similar to the long-term average. Basically, in 2007, we had 4.7 poults per brood surviving the summer. Anderson said this is right on the Tennessee average and what he would expect, based on other studies.

The nest initiation curve is what surprised him the most. He expected some disruption in nesting because of the freeze we had in April. But the 2007 curve matches almost perfectly the average of other years, telling him the freeze did not chase hens off the nest. Anderson added that the large Class 1 brood numbers gives good indication there was not a large-scale loss of partial nests either. Again, he said being average is a good thing, considering the extreme temperatures we had during those two less than memorable weekends in April.

On the flip side, Anderson said he doesn’t know what to predict for this spring’s harvest. But he did say we should have around 5,000 extra birds that were not harvested in 2007 still roaming the countryside. In addition, our production estimates (brood) appear to be average. Anderson said if you put these factors together, he doesn’t know why the spring 2008 harvest should not surpass the 2006 harvest and set a new record. He further said we would learn some things about what to expect in this spring after the fall 2007 harvest tally is completed. Overall, he said we should be on track for a good year and hopefully a new record.

For those worried about what effect last summer’s horrendous drought conditions had on Tennessee’s wild turkey population -- don’t worry. Anderson said it should have little effect on the birds because turkeys get a great deal of the water from their food resources like seeds and bugs. He said they don’t rely on permanent water from streams and ponds as much as other wildlife.

THE TOP TENNESSEE
TURKEY COUNTIES
The record year in 2006 was led by the turkey harvests in Greene County and Dickson County as the only two areas to ever surpass the 1,000-bird total. Greene County hunters harvested 1,106 turkeys in 2006, followed by Dickson County’s take of 1,014 birds.

Last spring in 2007, Dickson County retook the top spot among turkey counties in Tennessee with a harvest of 896 birds, followed by Greene County with a take of 826 longbeards. It looks as if these two counties have established themselves as the premier turkey destinations in Tennessee. They have finished No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, the last couple of seasons.

Of the 31,166 turkeys taken in the spring of 2007, Region II was by far above the rest with 11,343 turkeys harvested. Region I was second best with a take of 8,463 birds. Region IV hunters were third overall with a harvest of 5,444 birds, followed by Region II’s harvest of 4,729.