Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk ALTurkey Talk -- Beards and Spurs reducing harvest

So here is another consideration. In the late 90's when turkeys were everywhere and probably still expanding from restocking, I hunted hurtsboro/union springs area quail places a lot. There were a TON of turkeys. IMO, they were using excellent wildlife habitat but NOT optimal turkey habitat. The population was so high that they were almost forced to use habitat that they may not have used if there weren't turkeys everywhere already, even in the intensive pine plantations in the area. Fast forward to now. The habitat is pretty much the same, same burning, same predator control, same vast expanses of grasslands, same hardwood component, same vast acreage of large landowners......However FAR less turkeys. My theory is they never really liked managed quail plantations but did fine there and used them when all other quality habitat was already occupied. Not sure what this means but I think it is true - overall turkeys are down from a variety of factors and timber management on vast acreage of timberland is a big component. Are there more predators? Undoubtedly yes but I can't say I see more dead coons on the road than I did in the 90's. I KNOW I do see FAR more avian predators and I am SURE these are killing far more poults than they were in the 90's. Anyone got an answer for that one? Are our poult success and nesting success numbers down? according to the current research there is a lower nest success and brood survival than before BUT they are using more advanced telemetry devices that may be better at detecting early nests making it look like they are less successful.

I am convinced part of the decline is "natural" and that the post-restocking numbers we saw in the 90's were unsustainable. We may ne more in the "norm" now but there is other factors driving lowered recruitment. We are NOT replacing the birds like we used to and need to. If it isn't harvest (and I don't think it is) and we don't seem to be getting nest hatched and poults raised into the adult population how do we do it? Is chicken litter killing poults? maybe. Is aflatoxin killing poults in fall then they are small and every deer hunter is pouring corn on the ground? Probably. Is nest success down due to more predators eating eggs, probably. Is vast acreage of pine plantation and the management associated with it making huge acreages unsuitable for turkeys, probably. I still wonder why, when I could regularly hear 10-12 birds gobble from one spot in an open pineywoods quail plantation in the 90's and now, if I am near a hardwood drain on the edge of pineywoods, maybe hear 3-5??? Just musings