If you see any turkeys this month, you can help the Twin States by counting and reporting them for the annual brood survey.
The count takes place every August in both Vermont and New Hampshire, which keep separate turkey tallies. Turkeys travel in flocks. Female turkeys, known as hens, travel in grouos with their chicks, known as poults. Male turkeys, referred to as toms or gobblers, will form separate flocks.
“It’s just after… the spring weather has exerted its greatest influence on survival of chicks,” said Chris Bernier, turkey biologist for the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.
This year, officials in both states are hopeful numbers will be higher than in 2017.
“It varies year to year, dependent on the weather,” Bernier said.
Last year’s wet and rainy spring contributed to a lower than average count. There were about 950 sightings in Vermont last summer compared to 1,784 in New Hampshire. There are more than 45,000 turkeys in Vermont and more than 40,000 in New Hampshire.
“During that peak of hatching you kind of pray for good, dry, sunny weather without cold, rainy days because the little chicks are susceptible to pneumonia,” said Ted Walski, turkey project biologist for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. “We’ve had very good hatching weather this spring.”
Vermont has observed the same thing.
“So far indications are this year that we had a great brood production so it will make up for last year’s production for sure,” Bernier said.
Turkeys play an important role in the ecosystem of both states.
“There’s a lot of benefits from a healthy turkey population,” Bernier said. “Its ecological value is unparalleled. There’s a whole host of animals that benefit from them.”
Turkeys are a prey species for many predators including coyotes, bobcats, foxes, fisher cats, weasels, skunks, opossums, raccoons, snakes, hawks and owls, according to an eastern wild turkey fact sheet from Vermont Fish and Wildlife. Turkeys themselves feast on insects, plants, seeds, fruits, nuts and berries. They need access to both forest and fields to sustain their population.
Turkeys are often most visible along roadside and in fields.
“That’s where most of the reports come from,” Bernier said. “Often we get reports from people’s backyards. They’re eating breakfast and see a flock pass through.”
The Twin States provide both.
“They’re everywhere from Portsmouth to Pittsburgh,” Walski said.
But turkeys weren’t always abundant in Vermont and New Hampshire. When Vermont was first settled, its forests were cleared to make way for farmland and by 1854, there were no turkeys left, according to the fact sheet. In the early 1970s, turkeys were trapped in New York and released in Vermont, which by that time had regrown much of its forests and lead to a regrowth in the population.
“It’s such an incredible success story,” Bernier said.
The birds are appreciated by both birdwatchers and hunters.
“People love to see turkeys,” Bernier said. People who hunt turkeys grow an additional appreciation for the bird. “They more often than not develop a keen sense of stewardship for the land and appreciation for the species they pursue and that develops into a conservation ethic, a desire to conserve the habitat and the species itself.”
In 2017, there was approximately 40,000 pounds of local, organic, sustainably harvested turkey meat in Vermont, which translates into nearly 160,000 servings according to the FDA.
“That’s impressive to me. That’s a sustainable protein source,” Bernier said. “Local, organic, and it’s connecting people to the environment and helping us manage the population. It’s really a win-win-win situation.”
Editor’s note: To submit turkey brood sightings in Vermont, visit http://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/. To report them in New Hampshire, visit https://wildlife.state.nh.us/. Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
