Turkeys in Boone

[amboy49]

If I had the skills to attach a pic I could post a pic or two of what I saw this week. For those familiar, I was traveling north on Ford Road towards Zionsville. Just after crossing the Eagle Creek bridge at 96th street I saw two large birds out in a cut hay field. I pulled off to the side of the road to get a better look and sure enough, two tom turkeys - one a jake and one a two yr. old.

There is no chance, I'm certain, to get permission to hunt any of this area, but it gives me some encouragement that some of the Boone County properties I can hunt might hold a bird or two. I guess wildlife is returning to all parts of Indiana.

 

[AtTheMurph]

I spotted some in the Lebanon area last fall. Have seen some in my neighborhood in Brownsburg while out walking the dog.

My experience is they tend to travel up creek beds to find new areas to inhabit. They might stay where you saw them or they may be gone for years and never return. If there are some hens around then maybe you'll get some established then it's off to the races.

I have some property in E. Central WI. Were never any turkeys until there were. Now we are over run with them. I have seen flocks of upwards of 80 birds on one of my places, maybe more. Other place I've seen 50+ and now always see them when I go duck hunting. Some days i see more turkeys than ducks. This is all since about the late 1980s, maybe later when we had zero.

Now I would bet there is more turkey mass per acre than deer.

 

[phylodog]

DNR claims there are turkeys inhabiting every county in the state now. We had a hen hanging around the Eagle Creek Pistol Range last year.

 

[Restroyer]

We have 10 new poults on my trail cameras here in SE Indiana. I think there was originally 11 or 12 because I saw a fox one night on camera with a dead one in his mouth. In the videos, the 10 poults are herded by 3 hens. In some of the more recent videos they walk by the camera and then later return when the hens realize they are missing one poult. Two hens scramble back down the ridge to find the poult (funny how frantic the hens are to find the one missing youngster). Later on the trail camera the missing poult is being led by up the trail by one of the hens. Thought it was pretty cool how the three hens are helping each other raise the flock of poults. Also, in some of the videos you can hear a hawk screech overhead and the hens keep turning their heads to watch for the hawk as they hurry up the poults. Hopefully we get some toms out of these new poults since my neighbor lets everyone overhunt his property. I tried to post some of the videos here but it says the file is too large.

 

[Zinga]

If I had the skills to attach a pic I could post a pic or two of what I saw this week. For those familiar, I was traveling north on Ford Road towards Zionsville. Just after crossing the Eagle Creek bridge at 96th street I saw two large birds out in a cut hay field. I pulled off to the side of the road to get a better look and sure enough, two tom turkeys - one a jake and one a two yr. old.

There is no chance, I'm certain, to get permission to hunt any of this area, but it gives me some encouragement that some of the Boone County properties I can hunt might hold a bird or two. I guess wildlife is returning to all parts of Indiana.

Saw the same two birds in that field off of Ford Road on Tuesday afternoon around 2:00pm. Made me look twice.

 

[snapping turtle]

We had some "wild" turkeys in southern Madison county a few years ago. Was winter time and they in the field they were very visible. The next few days they were under the bird feeders eating the doves and cardinals cracked corn.

Got out the camera and the youngest daughter and they did not spook or leave. She went in and got bread and fed them by hand. These traits do not hold up with wild turkeys. They must have been raised birds. Saw them a few more times that winter and once in the spring then nothing.

 

[augdog]

I bow hunt the south edge of Clinton county and have seen turkey for the last 3 yrs.