Turkey
Sign
While scouting
before the season, keep your eyes peeled for the below signs, which are
good evidence of turkeys in the area:
 Tracks—Search
areas where tracks will be noticeable such as along field edges and paths
clear of leaves. Tracks will confirm that birds are in the area and maybe
help you understand where they like to travel. Turkeys have three long
toes. A single track measuring 4 1/4 inches or more from the tip of the
middle toe to the heel indicates a gobbler, smaller than that and it’s
probably a hen.
Droppings—a hen’s look like small pieces
of popcorn while a gobbler’s droppings are larger and J-shaped.
Wingtip marks—when gobblers strut, their
wingtips drag the ground leaving two parallel lines in the dirt, sometimes
with turkey tracks visible between them.
Dusting areas—turkeys bathe themselves
in dust to rid themselves of mites and other parasites, creating small,
round dirt depressions in the ground.
Feathers—turkeys will typically knock feathers
loose from their wings as they fly up to and down from their roosts. Out
West, tall timber areas littered with feathers and mixed with droppings
indicate a good roost site. In the East, larger wooded areas make identifying
roost areas a little more difficult as the birds have more places to roost.
Look for likely roost areas such as creek bottoms and wooded ridges.
BACK TO: Pre-Season
Scouting
The
National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) is a great resource for turkey
hunting tips and other wild turkey information. Visit the NWTF’s website
at www.nwtf.org for information or call
(800) THE-NWTF to become a NWTF member and receive one of our great magazines
filled with turkey hunting tips and stories.
About the NWTF: In 1973 when
the National Wild Turkey Federation was founded, there were an estimated
1.3 million wild turkeys and 1.5 million turkey hunters. Thanks to the
work of state wildlife agencies and the NWTF's many volunteers and partners,
today there are an estimated 5.4 million wild turkeys and approximately
2.6 million turkey hunters. Since 1985, more than
$135 million NWTF and cooperator
dollars have been spent on over 15,000 projects benefiting wild turkeys
throughout North America.
The NWTF is a 390,000-member
grassroots, nonprofit organization with members in 50 states, Canada and
11 foreign countries. It supports scientific wildlife management on public,
private and corporate lands as well as wild turkey hunting as a traditional
North American sport.
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