Turkey (bird)

• But people killed them indiscriminately year-round – sometimes for their meat and feathers, but settlers also took turkey eggs from nests and poisoned adult turkeys to keep them from damaging crops.
• Thanks to this unregulated killing and habitat loss, by 1900 wild turkeys had disappeared from much of their historical range.
• Turkey populations gradually recovered over the 20th century, aided by regulation, conservation funding and state restoration programs.
• We are wildlife ecologists working to determine why turkey populations are shrinking in portions of their range.

Fewer open spaces

• While turkeys may appear at home in urban areas, their habitat is open forest – areas with sparse trees that allow near-full sunlight to reach herbaceous plants at ground level.
• In 1792, naturalist William Bartram described the eastern U.S. as “Grande Savane,” or big savanna, a landscape with abundant wild turkeys.
• The open spaces that are left often are not suitable for wild turkeys: They need a well-developed layer of vegetation at ground level that includes mainly wild flowers, native grasses and young shrubs and trees to provide cover for nesting and raising their young.
• Turkeys can persist in these denser, shaded forests, but they don’t reproduce as successfully, and fewer of their young survive.
• Over the past 50 years, populations of bird species that live in open forests and grasslands have fallen by more than 50%.

The roles of food, predators and hunting

• For example, blame is often placed on more abundant predators that eat turkey eggs, such as raccoons and opossums.
• But these predators probably are more abundant in part due to changes in turkey habitat.
• This suggests that prescribed fire across the wild turkey’s range creates an environment that’s more favorable for turkeys than for their predators.
• Lastly, some observers have proposed that the timing of hunting could be affecting turkey reproduction.

Creating space for turkeys

• Land owners can help by managing for native grasses and wildflowers on their property, which will provide breeding habitat for turkeys.
• We have produced podcast episodes that discuss which plants are valuable to turkeys and other wildlife, and how to promote and maintain plants that are turkey-friendly.

Marcus Lashley receives funding from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, the National Wild Turkey Federation, and Turkeys for Tomorrow. William Gulsby receives funding from the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Turkeys for Tomorrow and the National Wild Turkey Federation.