I think southern Lawrence and Giles have had about 10 years of poor hatches. '17 spring and '16 spring I had two clutches hatch for sure on a small property I own in southern Giles county, but I had no photos or sightings of them either year from July on. They either moved off, which I wouldn't doubt, or something ate them all, which I wouldn't doubt either.
Last summer I would see 4 hens with 17 poults almost daily in the same area in southern Giles, and watched them until around September until they finally moved off and changed patterns or ranges. (I seriously doubt at this stage of life every single one of them got ate by something.)
I saw one hen with one poult last summer in southern Lawrence county and only one time.
My job consist of me driving in between 70-200 miles daily, in the countryside of Giles, Lawrence, and Wayne.
Besides what I just stated, I have not seen a poult in any county since 2009. Now I know that what I see isn't all that's there, and it doesn't mean everything, but it is some good info.
By the way, I also drive a lot in North Alabama, Limestone and Lauderdale County which borders Giles and Lawrence. No turkeys or poults there either.
Whatever happened in this area, began in 2007-2009. 2010 was the last year that I remember there being good numbers of birds, and I believe that from '11 to '16were at an all time low.
I am positive that there is an over all decline, but, I have oobserved more turkeys and more gobbling on my areas the last two springs than I have since '10.
What I see people not talk about much, was the huge flood we had in 2010. The flood that got Nashville really bad. It flooded places besides Nashville, and I'm wondering how much that had to do with it as well. It was probably one spring/summer where middle and West Tennessee had the worst hatch and poult recruitment since the beginning, and there haven't been enough turkeys to make more turkeys.
The tools that hunters have to kill, the early opener, the nest predation, the adult predation, the floods that we have, the loss of habitat converted to housing or even big ag fields, the accumulation of loss of hens on nest by predators, hay mowers, and accumulation loss of hens by legally shooting them with bows in deer season and fall season and bearded hens,....
It all adds up together.
Those reasons right there are why we don't have as many turkeys as we used to.
It all adds up. The easiest fixes from TWRA standpoint would be to open the season later, illegalize hens, and drop the limit some.
Everything else is pretty much out of their control. Although I would applaud them if they would put out sometime of something for the coins, possums, armadillos, and coyotes to be reduced.
Up to us, land managers and conservationist, if you are able, create suitable nesting and brood rearing habitat. I say it on this forum every dang spring. If all you can do is plant a winter wheat or rye field, then so be it. But if you can do more do so. Cater your land to quail, turkeys, and rabbits rather than deer. Deer can live anywhere and have few predators or other issues. Turkeys and quail don't. If you can grow turkeys and quail, your deer will thrive too.
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