Daryl Kirby article on turkeys this month.. turkeys #1 enemy will shock you

[emtguy]

He was asking why no poults on his land? His thinking is predators. Dr Michael Chamberlain is the UGA turkey biologist, best around ever on turkeys. He said a few AMAZING things. He said coons and possums aren’t turkey predators, he said they will eat a nest of eggs if the happen upon it but they don’t actively go looking for them.
He also says for every 1 gobbler alive 100 died. That’s was amazing BUT the MOST amazing thing to me was the turkeys number one predator and enemy..... it’s the horned owl. He said a owl will literally fly in a hit a turkey asleep on the roost and knock him out of the tree, they’ve seen feathers for 80 years scattered.
He said they collared a turkey, a possum, a coon and a fox trying to see which predator killed the turkeys.... a family of owls killed every single animal in like a month. It was amazing to them. Like every single collared animal was dead. Lol. By the owls. he said they are amazing predators no one thinks about.

 

[emtguy]

Oh, he also said a beard or spurs do not age a turkey. That after they are out of the jake stage you can’t age them unless you’ve tagged them or collared them. google search the podcast, it’s worth the listen.

 

[Ruger#3]

Owls have one ear higher than the other so their ears pick up the slightest rustle, home in and then tell their eyes where to look for their prey in the dark. Their wing feathers are ruffled not smooth so they fly silently. They are death from above.

 

[chrislibby88]

I have no data to back it, but I think mature red tailed hawks are bad news for turkeys of all ages, especially juveniles. One thing we have now that we didn’t have 20 years ago are healthy raptor populations. I remember when I was a kid it was a treat to see a hawk on a multi hour road trip, now I can barely take a 5 minute car ride without seeing one.

 

[buckpasser]

That man is truly amazing.

 

[Nicodemus]

A great horned owl is a flying tiger

 

[KentuckyHeadhunter]

Dr Michael Chamberlain knows his stuff. Horned owls and rat snakes are the 2 worst things for turkeys. One being a nest predator. And no you cannot age a turkey by its beard or spurs after the Jake stage.

 

[Permitchaser]

I couldn't find the article by Daryl Kirby. So can we shoot GH owls

 

[emtguy]

I couldn't find the article by Daryl Kirby. So can we shoot GH owls

They article doesn’t have anything to do with owls, he was questioning his turkey population and I was pointing out that it probably wasn’t possums or coons but owls

 

[KentuckyHeadhunter]

Permitchaser look up the Meateater podcast with Dr Michael Chamberlain. Its about a year old. Its about an hour of some amazing turkey knowledge.

 

[emtguy]

I couldn't find the article by Daryl Kirby. So can we shoot GH owls

It’s Dr micheal chamberlain on the meateater podcast. And no you can’t shoot owls

 

[Dupree]

I couldn't find the article by Daryl Kirby. So can we shoot GH owls

If you keep your mouth shut, yes.

 

[KentuckyHeadhunter]

Either way I never see horned owls ever.....only big barred owls. The cicada hatch this year will be good for the turkeys though.

 

[chrislibby88]

Either way I never see horned owls ever.....only big barred owls. The cicada hatch this year will be good for the turkeys though.

They are around. Had one at my place last year, they are unmistakable and large. It got hit by a car on the hwy about a week after I spotted it.

 

[six]

I hear a lot more than I see.

I had a couple Ohio GW’s tell me about a study they did years ago on turkey predation. And their findings coincide with that of Mr. Kirby. They call them Devils of the night.

 

[bfriendly]

I’ve never thought about how many critters they’d eat, but I was always in awe of the owl. Like Chris I too have seen many more hawks in the last few years......a bunch including a new nest next door

 

[Ray357]

He was asking why no poults on his land? His thinking is predators. The guy is the UGA turkey biologist, best around ever on turkeys. He said a few AMAZING things. He said coons and possums aren’t turkey predators, he said they will eat a nest of eggs if the happen upon it but they don’t actively go looking for them.
He also says for every 1 gobbler alive 100 died. That’s was amazing BUT the MOST amazing thing to me was the turkeys number one predator and enemy..... it’s the horned owl. He said a owl will literally fly in a hit a turkey asleep on the roost and knock him out of the tree, they’ve seen feathers for 80 years scattered.
He said they collared a turkey, a possum, a coon and a fox trying to see which predator killed the turkeys.... a family of owls killed every single animal in like a month. It was amazing to them. Like every single collared animal was dead. Lol. By the owls. he said they are amazing predators no one thinks about.

It would be nice if the State quit protecting all those predator birds. Don't protect yotes. Red hawk and an owl ain't no better than a blooming yote.

 

[High road]

Owls are why turkeys prefer pines to roost in until the other trees green up.

 

[buckpasser]

Triple S them. They deserve it.

 

[Son]

Managing a private property for timber and hunting. Had no problem improving the deer herd. But turkeys were a different ball game. Red tail hawks would catch and eat poults up to the size of a large chicken. Not a guess, I've seen them, and found the remains below a power pole in the middle of a twenty acre plot. Owls will take more than most will ever imagine. I watched a barred owl kill and fly off with a half grown coon in a cypress head. Also watched a coopers hawk attempt to take turkey poults. But the hen met the hawk mid air and chased it off. While that was going on, a second hen puffed up to look large and covered the poults until the other hen came flying back.