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

[Ruger#3]

Bald eagles are nothing more than a glorified buzzard in a Sunday-To-Meeting-Suit.

You are so right......
Go to any dump in Alaska and it bears and eagles scavenging.

 

[kingfish]

Very educational post. I was guessing fire ants as the number one predator. I know they are poison to quail. Figured number two was the coyote. I'm oh-fer !!!

 

[GLS]

A few years ago (2014) a nearby SC quail plantation decided to declare war and kill as many hawks and avian predators as possible. A disgruntled employee went to the feds and told them what was happening. The feds found the dumping grounds. The owner was ordered by the Federal Court to pony up $250,000 in community restitution.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr/major-federal-wildlife-prosecution-south-carolina-plantation
More recently, in 2017, a SC man was fined $30,000 by a federal judge for killing red tails.
https://www.thestate.com/news/local...enced in,federally protected red-tailed hawks.

 

[buckpasser]

A few years ago (2014) a nearby SC quail plantation decided to declare war and kill as many hawks and avian predators as possible. A disgruntled employee went to the feds and told them what was happening. The feds found the dumping grounds. The owner was ordered by the Federal Court to pony up $250,000 in community restitution.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr/major-federal-wildlife-prosecution-south-carolina-plantation
More recently, in 2017, a SC man was fined $30,000 by a federal judge for killing red tails.
https://www.thestate.com/news/local...enced in,federally protected red-tailed hawks.

Some big guys I talk to work them over pretty good for quail. Honestly, $30-$250k wouldn’t really scare my boss. If he wanted them dead he would order the hit. He often tells me, “the tail don’t wag the dog here”, and he means it...

 

[GLS]

Even with deep pockets, I can't imagine having my hunting license suspended. I know a few guys who lost their licenses for shooting dove over bait. Not all Federal judges are as lenient as the one who reduced the U.S. Magistrate's fine of 100,000 to 30,000 and lifted the Magistrate's suspension of hunting rights for 1 year. I have heard of hunting rights suspended for more than 1 year. The tail might not wag the dog but the court has the option of putting the dog in jail. Gil

 

[kiltman]

"Oh, he also said a beard or spurs do not age a turkey."

That's right! the best way age a turkey is to look under right wing. There's a small pouch. Inside this pouch is where they keep they ID.

 

[buckpasser]

"Oh, he also said a beard or spurs do not age a turkey."

That's right! the best way age a turkey is to look under right wing. There's a small pouch. Inside this pouch is where they keep they ID.

Also, most people don’t know, but there’s an oil gland on the back right in front of the base of the tail. Beside that is the TIN (turkey identification number). The last two digits are the assembly year.

 

[NCHillbilly]

Great Horned owls are fearsome predators, for sure. But, they have been living here with turkeys for tens of thousands of years and haven't wiped them out in all that time. They, nor any other native predator, are going to wipe out turkeys. There are two pairs of horned owls that live in my holler, I hear them most nights. And we are infested with turkeys.

 

[herb mcclure]

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.

This thread, like all other threads, goes all over the world of subjects mostly not even related to the main topic that the thread started out with, which was what Dr. Michael Chamberlain was relating about, after he was asked about predators.
Then as a side note in his talking points he related the findings of how terrible an horned owl is as a predator.
As a student of wild turkeys for a long time now, but not one from a classroom, but one from the outdoors. I would include hawks also as a major daytime predator.
Hawks and owls are just part of the problems for turkeys. But, with their uncontrolled population for the past several years, birds of prey, (known as raptors) are hurting turkeys population, period. They take hens and gobblers, young and adults, they are all victims, because I have see it happening many times on imprinted free-ranging wild turkeys that live at my home place, just like in free-ranging chicken days.
Like many others will make statements: That turkeys and raptors have lived together for eons and there are still plenty of turkeys where they are. However, that can be true, but not so long ago the gov. changed the balance between birds of prey, and their hunted prey. I am only trying to make others aware of what I have seen and know will happen.
Herb McClure

 

[catchdogs]

Bald eagles are nothing more than a glorified buzzard in a Sunday-To-Meeting-Suit.

Pretty rough on a fish pond for sure. A young one has taken a liking to our pond.

 

[Powerline]

Great Horned owls are fearsome predators, for sure. But, they have been living here with turkeys for tens of thousands of years and haven't wiped them out in all that time. They, nor any other native predator, are going to wipe out turkeys. There are two pairs of horned owls that live in my holler, I hear them most nights. And we are infested with turkeys.

What’s going to continue the decline in turkey populations is lack of brood habitat. If you listen to the Dr. he tells you what the problem is. A hen will just about lay anywhere. If she is lucky enough to hatch this is where it’s a real problem starts if she has to move that brood very far at all to get into quality brood habitat survival is right at ZERO! Now what is brood habitat, it’s early successional plants. And the poults are eating the insects that are feeding on the plants. I.E. closed canopy forest mine as well be a desert!! Thin the trees and light a match let’s help here!

 

[emtguy]

Can someone point me in the direction of this Daryl Kirby article please?

Thanks

This months GON

 

[leroy]

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.

35-40 yrs ago my late quail hunting loving dad kept a .222 in the truck and would shoot a tree sitting hawk in a minute, and any housecats he seen out and about.

 

[C.Killmaster]

Bald eagles are nothing more than a glorified buzzard in a Sunday-To-Meeting-Suit.

“Bald Eagle...is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly…[he] is too lazy to fish for himself.” according to Ben Franklin. Always loved that quote!