River talk

PA seeks public assistance with annual turkey survey

By SCOTT RANDO

Posted 7/12/23

The PA Game Commission is again looking for public help through the month of August for the annual Pennsylvania Wild Turkey Sighting Survey.

This is a citizen-science project that counts the …

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River talk

PA seeks public assistance with annual turkey survey

RR photos by Scott Rando

There are three hens and four poults visible in this image. Several hens may band together during the summer with their poults to form a flock. ..A hen’s head does not have the red of the adult. The plumage appears browner than the almost-black coloration of males, and females do not have spurs on their legs. ....The poults are active almost as soon as they hatch, and will leave the nest in about a day. Turkeys are ground-nesters, and they are vulnerable to predators until they gain flight ability after about a month.

RR photos by Scott Rando

Male turkeys are frequently portrayed in the media with their tails spread out, which is their behavior during spring courtship. Much gobbling is also heard. This male is just foraging, and is not putting on a display. ..Note the red on the head and neck, and the beard—a tuft of feathers growing out of the breast. A few females might have beards, but they are smaller. ..Males have spurs, which face backward just above the foot. The spurs on this male are about 1/2 inch long; this suggests that this individual is about two years old.

Posted Wednesday, July 12, 2023 1:01 pm

River talk

An awkward place for a snapping turtle nest

By SCOTT RANDO

The PA Game Commission is again looking for public help through the month of August for the annual Pennsylvania Wild Turkey Sighting Survey.

This is a citizen-science project that counts the number of adult male, female and poult (young) turkeys.

Game commission staff will also participate in the count.

The data from this project is used to gauge reproductive success in all regions across the state. “The turkey survey enhances our agency’s internal survey, which serves as a long-term index of turkey reproduction and is used in our turkey population model,” said turkey biologist Mary Jo Casalena from the game commission, in a July 3 press release announcing the survey. “Participants should report all turkeys seen, whether gobblers, hens with broods or hens without broods.”

Past data from this survey show an increase in the turkey population. In Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) 3D, which encompasses Pike and part of Wayne counties in PA, the survey shows 1,813 total turkeys counted in 2022, compared to 861 during 2021 and 1,181 in 2020.

The poult-to-hen ratio (aka the reproductive index) averaged around two poults per hen for the same time period. PA reported a ratio of 3.1 for the state as a whole for last year, which is above average.

Factors such as predation, spring weather and the number of turkeys harvested influence the results from year to year.

Filling out the survey page is straightforward. Users are requested to enter the number of males, females and poults observed. A map is used to pinpoint the location of the observation.

Care should be taken not to record the same flock multiple times.

The survey page is on the Game Commission website at www.pgc.pa.gov/Pages/default.aspx, and it can also be accessed at pgcdatacollection.pa.gov/TurkeyBroodSurvey.