It is such a pleasure listening to people speaking plain English about something they care about and how they've improved the habitat and the Turkey hens and their poults have responded positively. Getting property owners to change their ways is another benefit of having good data. I've walked many of these gas line rights of way in my work and love how that one is being used for wildlife and doesn't look like a mowed down golf course fairway. Great work Dr. Harper and your crew...
As a turkey hunter and outdoorsman, I found this very informative and quite fascinating. A real insight into habitat and how turkey hens use it to successfully produce more turkeys for the future is exactly what is needed in proper management. Great video, thanks for doing this.
I have searched and searched for a video like this! Very well done. Sharing! Now for one just like this on brooding cover showing the actual places that hens are successfully raising broods.
What a wonderful video! Our family has a large wild turkey flock on our land but we have never took the time to learn about how we can support this flock. Our land has different vegetation sites and we will try to manage those better in years to come. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.
Hands down one of the best videos on Wild Turkey reproduction on the internet. Pictures and videos of the nesting habitat help hunters understand the scientific description of these areas. Thanks
Dr. Harper - I have viewed many of your videos. This was, by far, the most informative, in depth and interesting video on wild turkey habitat (nesting) anyone has done! EXCELLET JOB to you and the grad students!! As a landowner, this is the kind of information and studies we need here in Missouri. I hope you send this video to your friend, Dr. Grant Woods. When you where in the overgrown WSNG field, that is what my fields currently look like. Any management advice here? Thanks, Robert
then there are the civilized turkeys! i have over 100 turkeys in our neighborhood on the edge of town and flocks all over the town of over 52k in population. they love my orchard and our neighborhood with larger lots. they sleep in the trees and walk all over the neighborhood all day. they are quite beautiful and very friendly here. they love peanuts and will pick my pockets which always have peanuts in them 🙂
This is great information and it’s really interesting. I once found a rio grande Turkey that nested inside of a very large prickly pear cactus. Those eggs were VERY safe lol
I have seen turkeys nest 3 times in large brush piles near my creek. I piled up saplings that I cut along the edge of a pasture. One turkey raised a lot of chicks under pole lumber that I propped up to dry for kindling along a high bank. I see various animal dens often in long, high brushpiles. Southeastern Ky.
Great suggestion! We just dropped a video on managing fall food plots for brooding cover in the spring. We are working to create similar brood cover visuals based on brood habitat use as well. Stay tuned!
Any research on this? I clear cut 60 acres and 40 acres mixed hardwood/ loblolly. Same amount of creek bottoms on both areas. Trees were not cut on creek bottoms. Started trapping and only catching raccoons w dp traps in (non clear cut 40 acres)woods. Pines planted this year in clear cut. Zero coons caught in clear cut or early succession area. Could early succession be helping for all the reasons mentioned plus raccoons do not prefer early succession or clear cut areas? Also, first time ever trapping this property.
Thank you guys for devoting time and energy. I have been turkey hunting since I was about 14 im 32 now and have successfully tagged out mature birds almost every year. Here lately in tn I noticed it has gotten very tough. Noticed alot of raccoons I remember a few yrs back tn did the rabies medicine for them. Last few hunts at oak ridge and chuck swan was very tough and not worth putting in for again. Hopefully they will find whats hurting their population. I would believe its a variety of things. Chuck swan is terrible the way they logged it and left huge amounts of brush no food source. Also wouldn't imagine the bald eagles and hawks with the bears the twra relocates doesn't help any. Would like to know about the governor turkey hunt in middle tn also. Some good sources I've spoken to have seen twra trapping the bigger fall flocks out just wonder if they are stocking their rich buddies farms.
Interesting to hear Craig list out a longer list of plant species compared to the closed canopy, crp areas and the birds are almost too loud to hear him talk.
I certainly encourage and assist turkeys and bluebirds on my property, but I do not give permission for state agencies to come into my land. Unfortunately we have to protect ourselves against any government intervention as we never know when they will turn against us.
Whats that got to do with turkey nesting. Tell us about your personal studies with the turkey in your area. Keep your theories and weak mindset to yourself.
@@justinpoore2938maybe you would benefit from your weak mindset and understand the government will and does come in and alter things at random. I know for a fact that in Georgia the people of DNR came in and trapped thousands of turkeys across northern Georgia and relocated to Illinois. I’m sure you won’t believe the government could do things such as this but it doesn’t change it.
don't you think sharing the mowing practices that worked to help that hen raise that clutch would be helpful....missed opportunity. Guess some will give up now instead of looking deeper to see what needs to be done with the mowing.
Actually, I don't bushhog for at least 60 days from the end of our turkey season. This way I don't run over nests. I have seen it happen and it really makes me sick to my stomach.
Thank so much, Dr. Harper, for the content of this video. I’ve often wondered what defines good/great wild turkey nesting sites (in addition to sites with good brood survival). I look forward to implementing this information on our farm!
