It must be August; New York State officials are emploring residents and guests alike to talk turkey to the DEC.
That’s right, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation wants to hear from anyone and everyone who has spotted a wild turkey — particularly hens with poults. The department is gathering information for its annual Summer Wild Turkey Sighting Survey.
The goal is to estimate the number of wild turkey poults per hen statewide and within major geographic regions. Shelter Island falls into a large area called “Coastal Lowlands”.
Why talk turkey to the DEC?
“This index allows us to gauge reproductive success in a given year and allows us to predict fall harvest potential,” the DEC said in a news release announcing the program. “Weather, predation, and habitat conditions during the breeding and brood‐rearing seasons can all significantly impact nest success, hen survival, and poult survival.”
With hunting season around the corner, the DEC wants to be sure it has a good grasp on the reproductive success of these birds that were reintroduced as protected game birds throughout the state starting the late 1950s after being overhunted.
The hens, which weigh about 18 to 20 pounds (males, called Toms, weigh as much as 25 pounds), typically lay 10 to 12 eggs that hatch after about 28 days of incubation. The poults can fly after they’re about two or three weeks old, and roost in trees alongside their mothers.
Naturally, Shelter Island offers an ideal diet for turkeys, which eat:
- nuts
- plants, roots, and seeds
- insects
- snails
- fruits and grains
State of the flocks
Last year, the DEC says it received 1,200 reports of turkey flocks during the August survey, significantly higher than previous years. The primary reason for the increase in the number of reports is improved awareness of the survey and the ease with which observations can be submitted on‐line through the DEC website.
The average number of poults per hen last year was 2.3 (a drop off from the previous year when it was 2.7). That’s also below the 5- and 10-year averages of 2.85 and 2.79 poults/hen.
“Reproductive success (as measured by this survey) gradually improved from the low observed in 2009 through 2016, but the past three years have been below the 10‐year average,” the DEC said. “It is also important to note that reproductive success is lower over the past 12 years (2008‐2019) than during the first 12 years of the survey (1996‐2007).”
Data from the National Agricultural Statistics Service indicate that rainfall was above average in May and June in most of the state last year. This above‐average rainfall likely negatively affected nest and poult success, the DEC says.
