There has been a shift in the birds behaviors here the last couple of years they appear to be nesting way later then past years. I hunted the National Forest a couple of years ago and I'd swear no birds were to be found. The ones that a guy did locate had hens with them until the end of May with little interest in calling. Along comes a snowstorm then they were around feeding in good numbers.

25 years ago we had no turkeys in Northern Utah. Then they moved a few in. They were a noverlty for a while. Now they're everywhere, and even though I like them around, many people are tired of them. They must not be like the Eastern Turkeys, They prefer to hang out in town and crap on everyone's driveways.

In Utah , might be better water source and more food in towns!

They Were gobbling... but quiet again.

we used to have too many turkeys they had a fall hunt, and then they were gone, at our camp the predators learn how to kill them the coyotes would roost them and wait until they would fly down in the morning [this was in winter] they ended up killing the whole flock of birds 54 total, in the deep snow a turkey is easy prey, now they are back everywhere after a couple easy winters,

We have many flocks around here. I’ve been hunting them since 91. They can be really dumb and the next one will have you pulling your hair out.

Missouri didn't actually extend any season. They just made it legal to hunt all day on private property. Can still only do it until 1 on public property. I think that the MDC has actually made some pretty intelligent moves lately in regard to turkey management efforts. They have at least recognized that something needs to be done as far as predator management goes, but they can't make people go thin out the coons. Limiting the number of birds taken per year, especially the hens in fall, should help quite a bit too. I think the biggest problem is one that MDC can't manage though. And that's development and habitat loss. People are going to continue to sell, clear, develop, and cash in as long as people keep selling out. It's never going to stop until there's nothing left.

Just had 50 of them in my backyard...dopey people here are afraid of them. lol, Darn things knock on the slider door for a handout.
Friend of mine says the hardest part about turkey hunting is getting off the couch and sliding open the glass door...

Around me - we dont have enough turkeys to justify a season. MDC needs to get their heads out of politics and start to manage wildlife. A broad application approach does not work well for an entire state the size of Missouri. We are at the lowest numbers of birds I have seen in over 20 years around west central Missouri.

It is odd to me that in one state housing developments and encroachment of former city dwellers into rural areas is “destroying turkey habitat” - and in the next state, turkeys are living in peoples front yards and roosting on their roof

In kansas our population has been in decline for 15 years. Many of those years we had a very wet spring with lots of flooding. The last 2 years we have not had flooding in the spring and our population has bounced back considerably.

you can destroy habitat at the same time you provide shelter to nesting

it then depends how much food is around

there is a fairly vibrant flock in Madison around the eagle heights neighborhood on the south west side of lake Mendota .

predators minimal , oaks common , a marsh , lake hiking trails , and most of it owned by the UW
even in private held areas space steep enough that they couldn't build on every inch of the place , parks , green spaces , country club. ect..

and mail people to harass and never a hunter to shoot one
a few get hit by cars

I won't disagree that numbers are down. The farm that I own with my brothers, turkey numbers have steadily declined. That's in the very eastern Ozarks. The farm that I hunt on along the river, an awesome turkey population. Somehow, some way, the birds are increasing in the SE portion of the state, in counties that previously had next to no birds. And are decreasing in areas that previously held tons of birds. I believe that there is a multitude of factors in play, and it varies by region. Maybe one of the best things that MDC could do would be to just make us a one bird state for now and limit the amount of NR tags handed out.

Seems to be no shortage of them around here, but the "recreational" farming going on is destroying habit at a VERY alarming rate.

There has been concern here in WI regarding poult success or lack there of. There are studies now to monitor what many state is a decline and mostly due to poor clutch success in the eyes of many. That being said where I live there are several large flocks say 15-50 birds not too far from where I live. Those large flocks are starting to disperse now. Open winter here helps winter servival.

Bryce

MDC is catering to the Nonresident hunters by going to all day hunting.
It absolutely doubled the length of the season.
Making this move during long term population decline is absolutely ridiculous.
In our county during the peak of population, we were killing 800+ in the spring season. Now we struggle to kill 300.
They manage the stupid deer on a county basis.
Why do they try to manage turkeys on a statewide basis?
1/2 day hunting has been in place since the season was opened in Missouri in 1960.
The majority of people who wanted it are nonresidents and people who have nonresidents come to hunt.
The biologists that have been pushing this for years are nearly all originally from out of state. They have friends and family come in and hunt……….
See where this is going?

If States were honestly serious about numbers, they’d outlaw decoys and fanning on both public and private. Any 5 year old can kill a turkey now, don’t even need to own a call. I just found out they even make remote controlled decoys. These decoys spin and raise and lower their fans.
Of course States won’t do that, lol. It’s all about $$$. If people can’t use decoys they won’t even buy a license because they won’t spend the money for tag soup.

The last 2 years the poult succus rate was low, our springs here are raw and wet, otherwise I'd have 200 of the things in the yard...

We started getting Eagles a few years ago, they've been picking away at the turkeys, coyotes are still scarce, so other then nest raiding by coons and the weather ,they have a pretty good life

I quit using decoys here a few years ago. Seems more often than not, the toms would spot the decoy, tuck tail and drift away. Without I still have decent luck calling them in. Our numbers are down, no doubt about it. I think the ones that are left are learning quick.

Entirely different ballgame without decoys. Everything changes including setups.