How common are Wild Turkeys?

[stevek]

New to me, but staying at a very nice Oregon State CG in southern Oregon on Hwy. I5.
I see wild Turkeys roaming around the Camp Ground.
Kinda neat.
Just made me wonder how common are these birds?

Gas is down to 3.20 at Costco in Medford, OR.
Hear some of you are under 3 bucks.

[shilohdad]

Well, it depends on where you are, and/or what reintroductions have been done. We live in downstate New York since 1987. Turkeys were extirpated here, probably in the early 1900s. Part of the problem was hunting and part was habitat destruction. Turkeys like fairly mature woodlands. Here in lower NY state most of the woodlands were cut in the late 1800s and early 1900s, mainly for firewood. Turkeys disappeared, but Ruffed Grouse liked the edge habitat produced.

When we moved here in 1987, grouse were still around, as well as a few turkeys. As the area woodlands matured, the grouse disappeared and the turkeys took off. Now, we see lots of turkeys, most of which are derived from reintroduced stock from the 1980s.

Elsewhere, turkeys never got extirpated. My father lives in Florida and they have tons of turkeys.

So, are they common? Yes, in many areas they are, sometimes because they have always been there, sometimes because the reintroductions into former areas work due to habitat reconstruction.

[oliverpsmile]

A flock of about 40 turkeys appeared last year on our property. We were considering hunting them for Thanksgiving, but did not have a clue how to cook them. This year they are our guests again, doing tremendous job on the weeds. Nice watching them - I think they've sensed our incompetence on the subject and don't fear the pot.

[CuJo's Pride]

We have lots of wild turkeys here. They are usually in cornfields once the corn is down.

[stevek]

Thanks everybody for the input.
Always something new for me to learn.
Just amazing, seeing the wild turkeys was new to me and fun to watch.

[Dude]

3 years ago I was on a guys camping weekend at French Creek SP in PA. We sit around the campfire and drink beer all weekend There was 1 wild turkey running around the campground loop all summer long. There were also a couple of kids in the campground with light sabers. One of them was pretending to "battle" the turkey (not hitting it but making the zzzzoooom zoom shrooom light saber noises) It was hilarious. Then the kid tapped the light saber on the ground and the turkey didn't like that and raised it's feathers and squawked and chased the kids who ran screaming. We were rolling on the floor laughing. Then one of the kids tripped and rolled into the fetal position crying. At that point we got up and chased the Turkey away.

We just came back from my groups annual guys camping trip so of course this story came up.

[robert newby]

Last weekend my wife and I took a ride up what is known as See Canyon near San Luis Obispo, Ca.and saw a flock of wild turkey's that must have numbered at least 100. It was the largest number in one spot that I have ever seen.

[dowellcj]

South Llano River State park, in Texas, is the winter roosting place for hundreds of wild Turkeys . It is off I-10 near Junction, Tx. They roost near the campground in trees, and can be seen and heard. Nature trails have blinds from which to view them. Some of the park is off limits to folks to protect them, but the park is beautiful in the fall especially, and worth a visit. Check the web site before you go for closure dates. There are some 2-3 day periods in Oct-Dec the park is restricted to hunter's (deer) only.

[bcope01]

Frequently seen around my house....

Bill

[stevek]

PIC taken this morning when I woke up.
We have spent the last 2 months on the road bumming around. All in CA and loving it.
Thank you Born Free !!

[Steve W]

You wish to see wild turkeys. In Chico, all you have to do is take up golf. And there they are. For some reason, golf courses and turkeys get along quite will together. Undoubtedly due to the fact that the turkeys realize that most golfers can't shoot a gun any better than they can hit the wee little ball so they feel quite safe. Being a golfer myself, I can state the preceding with a great deal of confidence.

[shilohdad]

Steve,

Nice photo. I love the ho-hum attitude of the hens toward the displaying toms.

It will be a while before we see this in southeast NY. We still have almost 2' of snow on the ground, with no hint of a thaw the next week.