Turkeys competing with deer

[mjflores]

In my area at least, it seems turkeys are everywhere. With the lack of acorns and beechnuts, it seems what little is there for the deer is getting eaten up by all the turkeys. Everywhere I look there's turkey scratchings...some parts of the woods look like a big crew of guys went through with a rake. Is anyone else seeing this sort of thing? I'm a little concerned about what long term brings with these turkeys...I don't think the woods were meant to support such large numbers.

[MKMGOBL]

I have to agree...no worries I've got an area I hunt that the turkeys have been destroying just like you said in your post. The deer can eat browse that turkeys can get to without the help of a good amount of snow.

[mjflores]

Thanks guys...I guess you just shouldn't second guess Ma nature ;D

I've never seen anything like all these turkeys...and wow do they sound like deer coming..until you hear scratch, scratch, scratch LOL. I cant tell what they're scratching up underneath the leaves they're raking...bugs maybe? Hopefully some ticks!

[MKMGOBL]

Nov 15, 2012 18:14:19 GMT -5 mjflores said:

I've never seen anything like all these turkeys...and wow do they sound like deer coming..until you hear scratch, scratch, scratch LOL. I cant tell what they're scratching up underneath the leaves they're raking...bugs maybe? Hopefully some ticks!

I hear ya I've looked over my shoulder a few time on them feeding across the hillside thinking they were deer. I'm sure that a huge part of the diet under though leaves are bugs. I know I turned up a ton of caterpillars, salamanders and bugs blowing the leave in my yard right before Sandy hit. Eating up the ticks (even though this year has been OK around me) doesn't hurt my feeling at all

[mjflores]

I did notice that the area where they scratch, is clean right down to the bare ground. They seem to eat everything in sight within the leaf litter. I'm sure if there are ticks there, they'd see them and eat them..as well as small weed seeds, other insects, maybe even pieces of root they scratch up. Very thorough browsers! One thing I've really noticed this year...wow is their eye sight good! Wearing an orange vest...you have zero chance of ever shooting a turkey of you wanted to LOL. Sitting in my tee stand...during bow season I had several birds walk by within 15 yards or so...full camo and they saw me and ran off. One had a huge beard and it was tempting (I have a fall turkey tag). Now that gun season is here, and I have an orange vest on..I hear them coming, and they make a huge arch around me because they've already seen me. Now I only hear them, or see short distance glimpses of the birds as the circle. They seem to like going in the direction they've already chosen, and in your there they just go around where as a deer will often bolt off the other direction. Pretty cool birds...amazing eye sight!!

[mjflores]

Well...I had to look up all three of those trees! ;D

I dont have any of those here...my property has maybe 50% Hemlock. The other 50 is evenly split between beech, red oak, and red maple. I have just 1 huge White oak, and a few of it's offspring which I'm glad to see it spreading. The little ones will never grown acorns in my time, but my son might enjoy some hunting under them. Here and there I have sassafras trees which deer really like to browse during the winter, and the turkeys do scratch around them so I think they're finding the small seeds from them. There's also a good amount of black gum trees located in one corner, they drop a black berry in Sept which everything likes but after that they only serve as den trees. It'll be interesting to see if the turkeys stay here all winter. I've always seen them here and there but never had what I'd call a resident flock. I'll have to spend some time learning more about these turkeys...maybe I'll even try hunting them here this spring.