Not seeing turkeys.
Kansas
Has every one else noticed a decline in turkeys and deer? Or is it just me?
Spot light surveys reveal a decline in turkeys, the state has taken action by reducing harvest opportunity.
Deer numbers are making a come back from the limited ehd outbreak of 2011 and 2012...numbers are stable to inclining..
Except mule deer..they have been decimated with opportunity..the state is now, finally, after decades of declines,..considering reducing the Firearms Any deer tags...of course this only effects the roughly 2000 tags sold to residents only..they make no mention of reducing nonresident tags..they also have discussed limiting the RESIDENT state wide archery either species tags..again..only effecting resident hunters..
The commission mtg is may 23rd,..in topeka..where the legislators can tell the secretary to add more nonresident tags based on demand for the coming fall whitetail season.
The state was fine with allowing xgun inclusion..afterall, it was only a social issue and would not effect the deer herd..but they still deny us the use of spears, altalts, airbows, air rifles, dogs, ..etc...
Its just you and maybe 2 or 3 others..
80 birds inside 25y
80 birds inside 25y
13 Toms stepped up to the local bar for a drink.
If we do not start getting some rain alot of areas will suffer. Ran out west for Dad's Birthday and seen 1 rooster in two days of driving. No deer and a small bunch of Turkey in Coon creek.
I am seeing quite a few roosters, had one in the yard this morning. But it is extremely dry, and without rain we won't have a hatch. I could care less about the turkeys.
Gobbling in my backyard Sat eve.... right on cue
Seeing lots of roosters, and quail.
Turkey numbers are down a bit, but still decent numbers.
Going to be 4 less in a couple weeks.
Writer, Michael...where can i order some of your cookbooks?
Dan, i cant early on, but if you want to come hunt my properties after ..say May 8th,..you would be welcome..we would cover over 140 miles in a day ..or be done on the 1st hunt...im in Minneapolis
My two Sedgwick county. Spots i have plenty of turkeys quail and Pheasants.
Am seeing some courting pheasants off the front porch the last week and the quail are starting to whistle. I was shooting my 400 yard gong out my loft window the other evening at sunset and a small covey flew in to roost 40 yds from the house. I haven't seen near as many turkeys this year in Harvey County but I look for them to come up the creek very soon.
I had the kiddos out yesterday fishing the Ninnescha at Cheney. We did hear quite a few birds gobble out there. Ticks are thick already so be careful out there. I did notice a lot of control burned Crp around the Reservoir that has never been burned off in the past.
Headed to work just now and saw these 2 toms headed up the creek by theirselves
Headed to work just now and saw these 2 toms headed up the creek by theirselves
Z- is that "game enhancement material" on the ground ?
You can call it what you want, i call it Hen Scratch
Z - sent you a private message on ordering the books, thanks. Things have changed a bit..... :-) for both of us.
Jakes are nowhere to be seen. I've talked to a bunch of guys that have hunted this area for along time. Lots of guys report seeing none. I've seen 2 and I let them walk. Don't even see them driving around.
Hunting pressure more than likely. I scouted close to 15 different birds on public the night before season. By day 3, there were none to be found except for one in my freezer :). Over the last 20 years, I have watched their numbers wax and wane in Fall River WA. The years of low bird numbers were often attributed to blackhead disease.
Ksgobbler:
We are seeing the same thing in the Chase County area. Few to no Jakes. I have seen a total of six jakes. Two different groups of three. Other hunters have told me the same thing. They are not seeing jakes. There seem to be plenty of two year olds. Apparently there was poor reproduction last year. I guess I need to figure out how to kill three year olds before next year.
Seeing about as many as ever. I think the early warm weather messed up the breeding and they are more scattered than we are used to. According to my census camera, as many as 15 hens and 6 jakes were coming in at mid day. Two mature gobblers, one won't make that mistake again. Somehow my arrow missed the target this morning. After finding the bad arrow and walking back to the truck, I did stumble onto about 50 morels!!!
Even my fall cameras showed bird numbers down by my calculation about 36%. When I bought the place we had a fall flock of 17 gobblers that hung around. Last fall was like 7. Buddy owns land down on the Lyon/Greenwood county line. He is down as well. I miss the late 90s/early 2000s.
Varies from area to area. In early April I saw 17 longbeards and 17 jakes, all different birds, along a section of creek bottom in Butler County. I'm talking less than a mile total of creek bottom. They're really dispersed since then, though. Our farm in LV County hasn't had a single jake on trail camera this year, but more longbeards than ever. Sorry, probably won't see the 1990s early 2000s again. New turkey populations seem to build and build a few decades, then something knocks them way, way back. They come back, but at more of a manageable population. We've had it happened in Comanche/Clark counties, Reno, Butler, Chase, Greenwood, Leavenworth....and in several other states.
I went later this year, only had a couple days to hunt. Arrowed 2 toms and called in a bunch. Never had so many toms come in so fast. In saying that, I only saw 4 jakes which isn't the norm.
