..that the turkey hatch and poult survival was not good (again) in my slice of the local river bottom. But, this morning some hens show up with a dozen or so bigger poults.

I had only seen tracks of 1 hen with 2 or 3 little poults all summer so far. Hadn't actually seen any.

This is good to know.....

What a great sight!

Good habitat and nesting cover offsets wet spring issues.

For sure.

Half of my 400 acres is 2 year old clearcut that was planted last winter. About 200 acres of nesting amd brood-rearing cover.

Neighbor's property to the north (another 200 acres) is the same. Across the river is the same...recent logging. Lots of sunlight hitting the ground.

Hurricane Helene caused most of the neighbor's timber to be cut.

Same up here Patrick. I haven’t laid eyes on a poult yet, but I’m getting reports of broods. Should have been a great spring for nesting conditions.
We’ll see.
Deer fawns everywhere.

Rabbit too Clay.

Yes, rabbits of all sizes are everywhere John!!
Kinda exciting fer us beagle nuts!

Nice

Still haven't seen one, plenty of hens visiting but no broods in tow.

Seeing a lot of young turkeys now but weeds and crops are tall , walked outside at 05:45 the other more as a hen and 6 little quail size poults flew like rockets

…. Those young ones should make for some good eatin lol

Only the young ones off public land taste good. Private land turks not good.

Swatting them out of the air with buckshot, right?

I had 2 hens and 20+ smalls in the backyard this am. First batch this summer. They were cleaning up the blueberries the crows knocked off the bushes.

Ya until they run into some 220 on dry ground.......I hope every beagle and hound owner in the state calls MDC twice at least about that proposition.

Haven't seen any poults yet down here but lots of fawns and rabbits as well and a few small coyotes. Will say I have seen more pairs of quail this year.

No poults, only rabbits are yard rabbits

I've seen more rabbits this year than I've seen in a long time. I have a nuisance permit and need to use it. I planted a lot of trees and will be planting a lot more this week. The rabbits decimated my hazel nut trees when I had the adverse reaction and I can't afford to let them do it again.

Keith

I have yet to see any turkey broods this year as of yet. I still see lots of aduts and hens daily but no young of the year. We usually see them every year at least 2 flocks. I often see where a few hens and their broods have grouped together. Most likely they do this for more safety.

We always have more cottontails in the late spring and early summer. However our owl population takes a toll on them. I frequently find hair and entrails in our mowed areas. We have lots of heavy cover but when they are out grazing in the open on clear nights they stick out like a beacon.

Our barred and great horned owls find our rabbits to be their preferred food if available and they are around here.