Habitat Loss and turkeys

I was always under the notion that habitat loss and human disturbance would move turkeys off a property but lately I have found that the opposite is true? I have observed this huge suburban flock stay put with track hoes and dynamite in the background even with more suitable undisturbed habitat right across the street. I also have seen this in rural settings with clearing for ag land and logging.
I just find this interesting I guess turkeys get stuck in their ways...? Maybe they know if they move to a new area they will be slaughtered?

They like the new open ground, especially this time of year. Problem is a lot of that land clearing is removing nesting habitat and potentially making it easier for predators to prey on turkeys down the road. Some of the newer developments down the road from me in college grove have pushed the birds out, because they cleared too much and put houses everywhere.

The urban flocks here in my hometown all have one thing in common, they got woods to roost in and thicker nesting cover within their core range, and much of this thicker cover doesn't get disturbed by people. Even though they may live between subdivisions and strut in peoples driveways, they still have a good mix of habitat to do their thing behind all the houses. Most of the time this habitat is along creeks where they don't develop, and they don't mow either due to erosion control.

Here in Clarksville the habitat disturbance like this usually takes a couple 3 years to wipe the turks out.
One particular place lasted a lot longer but when they disappeared it was literally overnight. I could hear them gobble from my back door, see them walking, game warden even busted some road shooters a time or two…then poof, they gone. Thats when I knew we had a serious problem. The habitat never changed, from my perspective, these were neighborhood birds that seemed to thrice until one day they didn't .

AT Hiker said:

Here in Clarksville the habitat disturbance like this usually takes a couple 3 years to wipe the turks out.

Click to expand...

^ This. Eventually, they'll be virtually gone if not altogether.

AT Hiker said:

Here in Clarksville the habitat disturbance like this usually takes a couple 3 years to wipe the turks out.
One particular place lasted a lot longer but when they disappeared it was literally overnight. I could hear them gobble from my back door, see them walking, game warden even busted some road shooters a time or two…then poof, they gone. Thats when I knew we had a serious problem. The habitat never changed, from my perspective, these were neighborhood birds that seemed to thrice until one day they didn't .

Click to expand...

I suspect they might have simply moved on. Adult turkeys aren't that easy to kill such that they would go from whole flock to nothing.

But maybe I'm too optimistic. Still hearing about places that used to have no turkeys suddenly having a bunch leads me to think some flock displacement has taken place.

It's possible they dispersed, to where is the question.
This particular flock only had one place to go and that's across the river. My best friend pretty much has some type of access to miles and miles of river bottoms and the uplands are turning into subdivisions. The numbers there have been in a constant decline…so these birds had to keep driving south for miles, miles and miles to Dickson County.

To me it's much more believable that they just died out. Ive witnessed livestock herds die out and I know a couple western ranchers that have had large herds of big game die…fortunately those animals eventually make some kind of come back.

When I say poof, I'm sure the flock is shrinking over time, it just compounds until one day a blind man notices.

Staten Island, New York City, is overrun with turkeys. Hundreds of flocks of turkeys consisting of 10-20 birds each. When I was working with the Red Cross we could not keep the turkeys away from our kitchen or warehouse. Turkeys seem very adaptable. They roam the neighborhoods and industrial and commercial areas as well as the wooded areas.

younggun308 said:

I suspect they might have simply moved on. Adult turkeys aren't that easy to kill such that they would go from whole flock to nothing.

But maybe I'm too optimistic. Still hearing about places that used to have no turkeys suddenly having a bunch leads me to think some flock displacement has taken place.

Click to expand...

Turkeys just don't disburse out more than a few miles, totally different than deer. Which is why birds had to be cannon netted and relocated during restoration.

The funny thing is... there are some suburban areas in the country where birds are an absolute nuisance.... lost their fear of humans, getting fat off backyard bird feeders, and chasing the mailman away. Of course there is no hunting in these areas.

Bottom line, turkeys are incredibly adaptable and can survive (often thrive) just about anywhere there are trees tall enough to roost in, a water source for the hens, and insects for the poults to feed on. In suburbia, I wouldn't consider them 'wild turkeys' any longer, just free range turkeys.

megalomaniac said:

Turkeys just don't disburse out more than a few miles, totally different than deer. Which is why birds had to be cannon netted and relocated during restoration.

Click to expand...

Funny, because I think of turkeys covering more distance than deer over the course of a year. Namely because of how far winter flocks are from where you find birds in the spring. Whereas it seems you bump a deer every 1/4 mile, year-round. Likely to see the same deer within the same square mile almost their whole lives (with the exception of young bucks chased away by their nurturing doe herd, and some slightly older rutting bucks).

So I would sooner believe a flock of turkeys moved 7 miles in a year's span (perhaps farther given 2 or more years) than I would a herd of does.

younggun308 said:

Funny, because I think of turkeys covering more distance than deer over the course of a year. Namely because of how far winter flocks are from where you find birds in the spring. Whereas it seems you bump a deer every 1/4 mile, year-round. Likely to see the same deer within the same square mile almost their whole lives (with the exception of young bucks chased away by their nurturing doe herd, and some slightly older rutting bucks).

So I would sooner believe a flock of turkeys moved 7 miles in a year's span (perhaps farther given 2 or more years) than I would a herd of does.

Click to expand...

Absolutely... 5, maybe 7 mile circle in a year. No further (prob more for turkeys out west in open country, I just don't know). GPS collared turkeys will be providing more accurate information about travel habits as results are released.

While most deer stay localized, some deer will roam 20 to 40 miles in a week, thereby allowing populations to expand over time. (Again from GPS collared deer studies)

ROFF said:

Staten Island, New York City, is overrun with turkeys. Hundreds of flocks of turkeys consisting of 10-20 birds each. When I was working with the Red Cross we could not keep the turkeys away from our kitchen or warehouse. Turkeys seem very adaptable. They roam the neighborhoods and industrial and commercial areas as well as the wooded areas.

Click to expand...

Same in Minneapolis. I have a picture of a longbeard flying down over my truck from my sunroof in a city block. That flock would hang out in the church yard and lean up against the brick wall like some hoodlums shooting dice..