Grouping up

[catman529]

Seem to be in flocks or getting into flocks now

Saw a flock of maybe a dozen birds or so fly across marrowbone lake in joelton yesterday.

A while later in another cove I heard yelping. Went around a point in the lake and looked up in the woods... flock of turkeys. Sun was behind them and I couldn't tell if they were hens or jakes... yelps were low pitched, maybe jakes, since hens are mostly nesting right now, aren't they?

Nearing sunset, heard turkeys again in another ridge. Once the sun dropped behind the ridge I heard wings flapping up into the trees.

Are they grouping up? I would guess they are. And also I wish you could hunt around that lake, it's covered in turkeys.

 

[Gravey]

Saw 3 longbeards all fanned up beside each other this morning in Smyrna just off the road. It was a beautiful site.

 

[sure shot]

had a huge tom fly over the boat one afternoon there he was so close he almost landed on the boat...lol

 

[Setterman]

It would be very very very odd to see groups of birds other than gobblers right now.

If you are seeing groups of hens than that spells disaster, and would mean that the hatch and breeding was a complete failure this year.

Even hens that lose a nest, will try and renest most of the time. So if they are grouped up, it means that they couldn't renest, or didn't even try.

That would be an extremely bad sign for the future of our turkey population.

 

[catman529]

It would be very very very odd to see groups of birds other than gobblers right now.

If you are seeing groups of hens than that spells disaster, and would mean that the hatch and breeding was a complete failure this year.

Even hens that lose a nest, will try and renest most of the time. So if they are grouped up, it means that they couldn't renest, or didn't even try.

That would be an extremely bad sign for the future of our turkey population.

I am thinking they were more likely jakes. Just couldn't get a decent look at the details due to the back lighting. And the yelping I heard was lower pitched than most hens I've heard.

 

[Setterman]

It would be very very very odd to see groups of birds other than gobblers right now.

If you are seeing groups of hens than that spells disaster, and would mean that the hatch and breeding was a complete failure this year.

Even hens that lose a nest, will try and renest most of the time. So if they are grouped up, it means that they couldn't renest, or didn't even try.

That would be an extremely bad sign for the future of our turkey population.

I am thinking they were more likely jakes. Just couldn't get a decent look at the details due to the back lighting. And the yelping I heard was lower pitched than most hens I've heard.

If you saw a group of a dozen birds that would be odd for this time of year even with a gobbler in a group of hens. Most if not almost all hens should be living alone or dang near it by now.

Like I said groups of hens or more than 4 birds together is cause for concern.

A group of 12 jakes is awesome if that is the case, and means great hunting in the next few years.

 

[catman529]

too bad you can't hunt there. Wish they would do quota hunts or something. So maybe with no hunting it just makes for great populations and a big flock of jakes.... I don't know.